


A redneck crush

by easnuppa



Series: A redneck crush [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2018-12-04 05:36:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 80,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11548578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/easnuppa/pseuds/easnuppa
Summary: Anna Hansen is a young girl who moves out from the big city to a small town in Georgia, there she meets a boy with the most amazingly sky blue eyes she have ever seen.This is a pre az story about Daryl Dixon as a teen/young adult.This is my first published story on here so bare with me.English is not my first language so sorry in advance for any miss spellings.I hope you enjoy and thank you for taking the time to read.





	1. part 1 : welcoming an adventure.

Anna was what you can call a normal teenager, avarage grades, but with some more effort she could be a straight A student, she was popular among her friends, she had loving parants, lived in the big city, Atlanta, she did not smoke or drink. She was what you can call a good girl. She was a an only child, but not spoiled, her parants made sure she knew that it took hard work to get to where you wanted to be. She was a great athleat, played on her schools voleyball team, and was one of the best players on the team. With her long pale blond hair, her silvery gray eyes, slender but curvy body she was very popular with the boys, but her parants being smal towners they did not trust the big city boys so she was not alowd to date until her 18ˋth birthday. Since she was 17 this was alittle frustrating to her, most of her friends where already dating, and teasing her playfully that she where gonna end up as an old virgin with a house full of cats.  
Her father had a well stablished job in an office for a well known oil company and did alot of traveling all over the world, but lately had been offered a new job as the adm. dir at an office in Gorgia, since both her parants was small towners, and was never really satisfied living in the city they had desided for him to accept the job and they where going to move to Georgea. This had made Anna pissed at first, what was she going to do without her friends, her team. But her mother had told her that with Annas easy going personality she would have no problem at all getting friends, besides she would move in the middle of a school year so she would have all the time in the world to get new friends before summerbreak. Her mother had even tried to tempt her with that there might be some handsome boys out on the countryside. This had made her roll her eyes. But as time past and preperations where comming to an end she had started to look forward to her new adventure. And with a light heart she had said goodbye to the big city and hello to the small town. 

They had used one week to get in order in their new although old house, since her mother was an interiour designer, it was no problem at all to make the old house into a cosy, fashionable home. Anna layed in bed and looked around her room, the sun was shining in through her window and the room was bathing in a soft warm glow, this was her first day at school, she was excited but yet nervous. What if they didnt like her, what if she didnt fit in. She shruged off the angsty thoughts and pulled on a new set of clothes that her mother had bought for her just before they left the city. Dressed in skinny jeans, wedges, a cute white tanktop she skipped down the stairs, the smell of bacon and eggs frying made her mouth watery, but she was too nervous to get down a bite, she grabed an apple and whent down the road to the bus stop, thugging on her designer handbag she stepped slowly up on the bus as it stopped infront of her, she let her silvery orbes glaze over the half full bus and met two smiling faces almost at the back of the bus, they waved her over, and with a relieve sigh she sat down "Hello, im Anna" she said with a wide perly white smile. The boy and girl sitting next to her returned her smile "Im Leo and this is my girlfriend, Mary. So your the new girl.... " Anna nodded and let out a breath "not easy being the new girl in the middle of a school year, everyone already knows everyone" Leo grinned "i dont know what it was like where you come from, but here everyone knows everyone from birth, but dont fret, we can show you around, tell you who is who and who to avoid" this comment made his girlfriend role her eyes and shove lightly at his sholder " Stop it, dont frighten her, not everyone have to have your opinion about sertain people" Anna just glanzed at them curiously. "Leo arent very people friendly sometimes, he does not like, only tolerate most of my friends" she turned to Leo " let her make her own opinion on the people around school" Anna mouthed an ok, and giggled slightly. As the bus dropped them off, they walked slowly over to the main enterence and looked over the parkinglot, Leo nodded towards different clicks and explained " and there is the amazing cheerleaders" he said in a sarcastic tone and Mary turned towards him and hit his chest "hey stop it, im one of those cheerleaders and you love me" Leo grinned and gave Mary alittle peck on her red plump lips " yes but you are not a clone like them, you actually have your own thoughts and style" Mary giggled and turned to Anna " they arent as bad as he says, ill introduce you to them at next recess if you want" Anna smiled and nodded, she had always wanted to be a cheerleader, but was way to clumbsy and was terrefied of hights, that is why she had focused on volleybal instead. Annas eyes cought two guys riding up the parkinglot on two mean looking bikes, she could see they where dressed in worn down clotes and was more or less dragging their feet on their way over to the main enterence as they lit a sigaret, "who are they" Anna asked curious and nodded towards the two boys, one with short blond hair, alittle taller and more buffed built then the other, the other had longer hair,but it was still blond, he was also wearing a black leather jacket with two angel wings sewn into the back. " thats the Dixon brothers, surprised they even shoved up today" Anna looked over at Leo with questiongly eyes " they usually dont come in on mondays, thursdays and fridays..... prolly way to drunk or hung over" Anna mouthed an O before she turned her gaze back to the boys, meeting the one with the winged leather jackets most stunning blue eyes she had ever seen. Her breath almost cought in her throat and she looked down at the ground as they past. The bell rang and they promised to meet Anna outside after class.  
Anna was greated into the classroom by an middle aged looking woman with warm, kind eyes. She introduced her to the class and told her to grab a seat. The only seat that was available was in the back of the classroom, she made her way over and sat down, noticing she was sitting next to the guy with the leather jacket and the incredable skyblue eyes. She smiled sweetly and mouthed Hey, only getting a grunt and a nod back. She unpacked her handbag and started taking notes at what the teacher was explaining, she could feel eyes burning into her side and looked up, but the guy next to her seemed occupied with carving something into his desk. "Take a picture, itˋll last longer" the guys voice was low and scruffy, his southern drawl thicker then Leos, it almost gave her goosbumps, she rubbed her arms slightly and mouthed sorry towards him, hoping everyone wasnt as over friendly and welcoming as this guy she thought sarcastically. After school she met up with Leo and Mary and they showed her around town. The usual hang outs and the movies.  
The week had gone by eventless, Anna had settled into the new school without problems, she had met the cheerleader squad and had been accepted into the group without problems, but Anna was not too sure about them, since in her opinion they seemed alittle to shallow. She spent most of her time just hanging out with Leo and Mary, who she really liked and felt comfortable with. Today was saterday and she had slept in late, she only pulled on a tank top and some cut off jeanshorts, her hair tied up in a lose ponytail she made her way down to the kitchen, her mother was probably down at the store she was planing to open up, she grabed a sandwitch and whent outside, rounding the back of the house, cought up in her own thoughts she collided into a broad hard chest, she stumbled back alittle and looked into those mesmerizing blue eyes "oh sorry" she mumbled "I... uhm, have you seen my dad?" stumbeling in her words becouse she was taken aback with the fact she had just run into one of the Dixon brothers here, at the back of her house. Leo, Mary and the cheerleaders had told her enough storys about the two to make her understand that they where not guys you wanted to hang around. Always drinking, fighting and doing drugs, cutting classes. Her father rounded the corner and with a cheerfull voice he greeted her "ah, there you are Anna, good morning sweety" he walked over to her and pecked her forhead and gave her sholder a tight loving squeeze " ah i see you two have already met, Daryl here are gonna help me restore the house and barn this summer" Anna let her eyes grace over Daryls form, he was chewing at his thumb and shuffeling his feet, this kind of surprised her, where was the confident hardass she had heard so much about, her trail of thoughts was interupted by her father "i have invited Daryl to stay for dinner, you where planing on making your famous pasta dish, sweety, isnt that correct? you dont mind making alittlebit more? We need to make sure this boy here get alittlebit more meat on his bones" her father finished with a snicker. Anna shook her head and smiled to her father before she looked over at Daryl again, her dad was right, he looked alittlebit thin, or was his clothes too big. He could see a deep blush creep up Daryls throat and cheeks, her heart skipped a beat, that was adorable. Her father pulled Daryl with him at the back of the house where the barn was and they started working, Anna sat at the porch watching them for a while, finishing up her sandwitch before she made her way into the house. After finishing up her schoolwork, a shower and a movie she headed down and walked out on the porch, her father and Daryl where having a break "dad, think im gonna head down to the store and get what i need for dinner and maybe look into mom on the way back" her dad whiped some sweat from his forhead " sweety i dont have the time to take you now, cant you give me an houer to finish up, you know i dont like that you go alone" Anna rolled her eyes "dad, im almost 18, ill be ok" alittle embarraced about how her dad treated her like a kid infront of Daryl she turned on her heal to walk back inside. "Hold on Anna" her dad shouted after her "Daryl can take my truck and drive you" she sighed and she could hear how her dad asked Daryl to more or less babysit her " you dont mind, do you, Daryl? I dont like my little girl going out in an unfamilular town, youll still get paid" she didnt hear what Daryls respond was, but soon after she heard the porchdoor creek open and close, turning slightly she saw Daryl standing there looking at her sideways, chewing on his thumb again. She rolled her eyes and handed him the carkeys. The car ride was akwardly silent, Daryl didnt say much, and when she tried to engage a conversation he only grunted or nodded. She whent into the store by her self and got what she needed, as she walked outside she could see Daryl standing infront of the car smoking a sigarett while talking to two police officers. As she came closer she could hear the conversation " now Dixon, how are we gonna belive you when you say your just borrowing this fine looking truck, when we hawled your brothers ass into juvie just three days ago for stealing a car?" Anna couldnt belive her ears, she slowly walked over to the three men standing there arguing, she saw that Daryl was starting to get red in the face from what she asumed was anger, Daryl took a step closer to the officer on the right, she softly cleard her voice "excuse me officers, what seem to be the problem here?" The officers and Daryl looked at her for a second, she could read embarrasment all over Daryls face "Nothing that consearns you little lady, we are just sorting out the trash of this fine town." Anna got alittle offended by how they talked about Daryl right infront of him "I think it does consearn me, since you two are standing right infront of my dads car" The officer to the left took another glance at her and saw her expensive looking clothes "This car belongs to you?" Anna nodded, and before she could blink they had turned Daryl around and pushed him on his stomach onto the hood of the car "thats it Dixon, youll be joining your brother, we knew it wouldnt take long until you started following in his foot steps, we have had our eyes on you" Daryl cursed and struggled to get his hands free as the officers cuffed him. Anna rounded the hood of the car and was now standing right next to them " what are you two doing? let go of him!" The officers started to pull an unwilling Daryl against the police car " like we said, we are cleaning up the trash of this town, Daryl here was just about to break into your car, miss." Anna droped the bag of food and ran infront of them and made them halt "What? No! he works for my dad, my dad gave him premission to use the car to drive me" the police looked at eachother for a second and then back at Anna "give me the number to your father, so we can confirm your story!" Anna rolled her eyes, but gave the officers her dads cell number, she prayed her dad had his phone on him while working outside. Daryl was shoved harshly into the back of the police car while the officers made the call. Anna paced back and forth infront of her fathers car, waiting, offended and alittle pissed off. The two police officers came out of the car, they both looked like they had eaten a lemon and they draged Daryl out of the car and uncuffed him "you weezled your way out of this one Dixon, but wer watching you" Daryl stared at the ground before he turned without a word and got into Annas car. Anna picked up her bag and was about to round the car when the officer grabed her arm, she could feel Daryl shooting daggers at the officer from inside of the car "you better get yourself some different friends, miss, this one is up to no good" Anna just glared at the officer, not apretiating the warning at all. She got into the car and fastened her seatbelt, she looked at Daryls wrists that still had the cuffs mark into the skin, they had been pressed down so tight. Daryl noticed her eyes on him "Its nothin" he said in his gruffy low voice. "You can not let them treat you like that!" she studied him, she saw how he tenced up "how can your parants alow them to treat you like that?" Daryl just shruged his sholders, but Anna wanted a reaction, an answer out of him. Had this misstreatment been going on for long? "If my dad ever found out i had been treated like that, he would have sued" Daryl looked at her, like he wasnt surprised by her statement "ya daˋis good people, jusˋlet it go" she heard from the tone in his voice he was not interested in discussing the matter any more. Anna sighed. "Is it true? " Daryl looked at her questiongly "your brother i mean, is he locked up?" He shruged again, like it was not a uncommen thing to have a family memeber in jail. "What did he do?" Daryl pulled over infront of her mothers interiour shop " bar fight... the usual" Anna just looked at him, how could someone talk so ordinary about something like this "What did your parants say to him being locked up? " Daryls body got even more tenced, and she could clearly see him cleanching his jaw, this was clerly not as easy for him as he lead on "My family is non of ya buisniss" Anna took the hint loud and clear, a woman comming out of the store cought her attention and they both jumped out of the car, Anna huged her mother and smiled "hey sweety, will you tell your father i will be alittle late tonight, there is a problem with the latest shipment of furniture" Anna nodded and her mother glanzed over at Daryl who was now standing in the front of the car, chewing at his thumb again. "Oh, who is your handsome friend Anna?" She walked over to Daryl and reached out her hand to him, Daryl looked at her hand for a second before he pulled his hand out between his lips, whiped it on the back of his worn out jeans and shook her hand " Im Daryl, mrs Hansen, pleasure to meet ya" Anna saw how nervous he seemed, but found it rather cute how he tried to introduce himself in a proper way, her mother smile widened and she brushed some blond curls behind her ear "oh my, arent you a gentleman Daryl. The pleasure is all mine" Daryl almost looked like someone had slaped him, looked like he wasnt used to people being nice to him. Annas mother looked between Daryl and Anna "so what are you two teens up to? " Anna shruged her sholders "Daryl is helping dad out building the house, and he came with me down to the store to buy what i needed for dinner" Annas mother smiled and directed her green eyes at Daryl again "a gentleman indeed" she mumbled " well you must stay for dinner Daryl, Anna is cooking, she makes the best pasta, it is devine!" Daryl just nodded, Anna said bye to her mother and they jumped back into the car. Watching her mother waving at them while they drove off, Anna felt alittle embarrased "Iˋm sorry about my mom, she can be alittle overwhealming at times. " she rubbed her hands on her bare tighs, she could feel Daryls eyes on her "Its alright.... theyˋr good people" was all he said before his eyes was glued to the road again. As her house aperad at the end of the road she took a deep breath " me and some friends are gonna go to the movies later and watch the new pirates movie, that was just released, wanna come?" Daryl clenshed his jaw a bit "nah" was his short answer as he jumped out of the car, he grabed the bag of food and carried it inside the house for her before he joined her father outside, he didnt say another word to her. Anna thought she maybe had offended him or somethin, but started on the dinner. The dinner was more or less quiet except for her dad trying to get to know Daryl, asking him all different questions, she learned that he used most of his time out in the woods, tracking and hunting, fishing.That he took work beside school to save up for a mechanic shop he wanted to start as soon as he graduated from school. Anna could see that Daryl had made a very good impression on her dad, Anna just sat quietly and observed the two. Her father whent over to the fridge and grabed two beers and handed Daryl one, who took it. Hannas jaw literarly droped at the floor and she could see that Daryl tried to hide a smile behind his hand "Dont look so shocked sweety, the boy is 18" Anna looked at her father and then back at Daryl, what the hell did he do in her grade, being a year older then her. She could not keep her mouth closed « but you are in my class?» Daryl just shruged «was set back a year» She stared at him as he silently put his bottle up as a teasingly cheers, she rolled her eyes and started tidying off the table. "so Daryl, do you got someone special in your life yet?" she could hear her father ask Daryl, she slowed down what she was doing to hear the respond, she didnt know why but she was curious to what the answer might be "No sir, dont have time for that" she rolled her eyes, she had heard the rumors about how busy the Dixon brothers where with the girls, though non of them dated, one night stands was more their thing. It was even rumors about how the older Dixon brother had knocked a girl up and left her out in the cold with a baby to fend for her own, it was probably just around the corner that the same would happen with the younger Dixon. She heard her father carry on. "Very smart Dixon, save the dating until you find that special someone. Anna was not alowd to date when we lived in the city either, i have never trusted those cityboys. " She could not hear Daryl responce, but she rolled her eyes, she needed to tell her dad to stop sharing that much from her life with Daryl, he was probably bored to death. She heard the door open and her mothers cheerful "Iˋm home" as she walked into the kitchen, she gave Anna a peck on the cheek "What are you doing sweety, go out and keep your friend company, me and your dad will take care of this" Anna tried to tell her it was alright, that she did not mind, but her mother insisted "and tell your friend he might as well spend the night at the guest room, there is a awfull looking storm rolling in, it will probably hit us any secound now." Anna was not really sure how well Daryl would take the offer, but she whent into the living room "my mom said there was a storm comming, she said it was fine if you spent the night" Daryl just looked at her, blinking his eyes. "itˋll be alright, iˋll make it home if i go now" he was just about to get up from his chair when her mother came into the room with a wide smile "oh dont be silly Daryl, you will spend the night" and as if it was on que a loud bang from thunder ripped through the air. Her father got out of his chair and walked over to the window " You better get your bike inside the garage, before it gets ruined" Daryl did not need to be told twice, Anna walked over to the window, and she could see how it started pooring down outside, and how Daryl pushed the heavy bike into the garage, as he reached the front door he was dripping wet. "Anna, show Daryl to the bathroom and get him a clean tshirt and some pjs, so he dont get sick." Her mother called from the kitchen where she continued cleaning up the dirty dishes. Anna showed him to the bathroom upstairs and whent into her parants bedroom to grab some dry clothes for him. She handed him the pile of clothes and a towel to dry him self off. She whent into her bedroom and layed down on her bed and waited for him to be done. Daryl stood in her doorway, in her dads pj pants that hung losly on his hips and his tshirt, barefoot, his hair alittle messy and still a bit wet. He was chewing on his thumb. "Do you want to barrow my phone and call your parants, tell them that you will spend the night here?" she asked as she petted the spot on the bed next to her "nah" he just answered and sat down on the edge of the bed alittle awkwardly. This was a surprise to her, from the rumors going around about how experianced he was, one should think that he would not feel awkward in a girls bedroom. "Wanna play some cards?" she asked, since watching tv or a movie was out of the question becouse of the thunderstorm. After a few houers of playing, Daryl trying to play fair, but Anna cheating and pretending to get offended every time Daryl saw through her game. Anna had managed to lure a smile from Daryl every now and then, he didnt seem so guarded that he had been earlier. Anna really enjoyed her evning with Daryl, it was easy, alot more laid back feeling being alone with him then she could remember from hanging out with any of the boys she knew back in the city. Anna laid her hands on her forhead, acting like she was about to faint as Daryl won another round. "I swear on my life mr Dixon, you will be the death of me" , this statement draw a grin over his lips. Only gettin interupted by Annas mother knocking on the door. Daryl shot up from the bed as she walked in "Im sorry mrs Hansen" Annas mother and Anna looked at him, why where he apolegizing, he had not done anything wrong. Her mother smiled at Daryl "relax Daryl, im just wondering if you guys wanted some snacks, i know my husband gave you a beer earlier, but i am just not comfortable having you drinking up here in Annas room" glanzing over at Anna with a stearn look. Anna just rolled her eyes at her mother, knowing she was not alowd to drink, her mother continued " but i can offer you guys some limonade" Daryl nodded and carefully sat down at the end of the bed, looking like he was gonna get into trouble any secound. Her mother swiftly walked out of the room but returned shortly after, followd by her father carrying candles, chips with dip and limonade and two glasses. They placed everything down at her bedstands "just incase the power goes out" her father explained. "i must say" her father said " im so happy Anna got a friend in you Daryl, you seem like a realy nice guy" Daryl looked like he just had a stroke and Anna shook her head and shushed her parants out of the room, yet again apolegizing for their overwhealming behavoir " Im really sorry, they are not used to guys hanging out in our house, not that you really had a choice in the matter, its pooring down outside" she added almost mumbeling. Daryl grined a half smile " no worries, just not used to parants not chaising me away with pitchforks and torches" Anna scofted, remembering the rumors "yes ive heard why" she stated, making Daryl look at her squinting his eyes at her. Anna looked up at Daryl "what?" she questioned, not getting his serious look, "you shouldnt belive everythin ya hear" , Anna waved him off, "from what ive heard Daryl, you and your brother is quite the ladys men" Daryl scoffed. This made Anna look at him, most guys she knew whould puff out their chest acting like they knew they could pull girls like crazy, like she had just said the understatement of the year, but not Daryl, he just blew it off like it was bullshit. She threw a potatochip on him and he shot his sky blue eyes at her curiously before he stuffed the potatochips in his mouth "dont act so modest Daryl, it dosent suit you" she said with a grin, he shruged her off. "come with me to the movies tomorrow.... " she said suddenly, not knowing where her currage suddenly came from, since he had rejected her offer earlier. "nah" was his answer again... she looked at him, trying to figure him out " why not?" she asked, not used to guys rejecting her twice in one day. "ya can take ya friends to ta movie" he simply said, dealing out another round of cards, "my friends have other plans tomorrow, and id like to consider you as my friend as well Daryl" he simply stared at her for a while "ya better off sticking to the group ya hang with at school" he said in his low gruffy voice that she had gotten to enjoy. "I dont see a problem with us being friends, and it seems like my parants like you and want us to be as well" she said and pulled a card from the stock "Wount take long til they change their minds...... " he said sounding alittle bitter. "just wait til they here the rumors". Anna stoped what she was doing, alittle offended that he would think so low about her parants "my parants know that a rumor is just that, a rumor. Ive already heard a bunch of rumors about you and your brother, but i dont belive the half of it. If what ive heard is right then you wouldnt be sitting here drinking lemonade with me, you would be off getting high somewhere" Daryl just grunted, didnt really seem like he belived what she said. Suddenly it got pitch dark and Anna squeeled, not liking the dark to much "the power whent out" he stated. Anna got up to grab the candle to bring it closer to them, but clumbsy as she was she stumbled in her own feet on the way back to the bed and was about to fall if not Daryl had reacted fast and grabed her, she realized she was half laying over him on the bed "im really sorry" she studdered "im just so clumbsy" she fumbled over to the other side of the bed where she was sitting, thanking higher power it was dark and that Daryl could not see her blushing face. Being so near him had made her pull in the musky smell of him, feeling his hard chest under her hands. It had made her blood boil in her veins, and a fluttery feeling started growing in her stomach and she was deeply embarraced. They heard someone clearing the voice outside the door "we are heading to bed,Anna, its time for Daryl to go to the guestroom" it was her fathers voice, Anna stood up from the bed, her eyes bearly getting used to the dark "Ill show you the guestroom" she said, and Daryl nodded.


	2. Prom night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna and Daryl have grown closer over the past months after spending every weekend together, Anna feels her self drawn more and more to Daryl, did Daryl feel the same about her?

The weeks and months flew by and suddenly it was the last week of school and prom night was comming up. Anna had gotten multiple offers for promdates, but no one was really that tempthing, spending the time at home on the weekends getting to know the mysterie of Daryl made every other guy pale in comparison. She had only seen him share a couple of beers with her dad, and he was only smoking regular sigarets during the weekends, so she came to the conclution that the rumors about him being a druggie wasnt correct. He was often wearing sleevles tshirts and she never saw any needle marks. Although a couple of times he had shown up at her house with a bruised face, he brushed it off as the results from a barfight and made her dad laugh. Friday was the big night and her mother had been fuzzing about her beautifull dress for days, and how she should wear her hair and so on. She was sitting out on the pourch watching her dad and Daryl work, when her dad desided they where gonna call it a night. She saw her dad walk inside to check on dinner, it had gotten a habbit that Daryl would eat with them each night of the weekend. She walked over to Daryl as he finished his beer and lit a smoke. "So Daryl, who you taking to the prom" there had been no rumors going around about Daryl taking anyone to the prom. Daryl just scoffted from the question "not going, gonna go hunt" it made sence, he was not really that social, she had tried on multiple ocations to get him to go to the movies, but he refused every time. If she offered to watch a movie at home after dinner he was fine with it. He had started to accept her and she could feel him relax more around her and her family, it really seemed like he liked being at her house, he always seemed kind of sad or agetated whenever he had to go home on sundays. "That is a shame, you would look smashing in a suit" This statement made him scofft again and Anna gave him a wide grin "All the girls would fall around you like flies" He shoved her sholder playfully as he sat down next to her "don know nothin about that" Anna sighed. "Would you go with me?" she tried to seem like it was no big deal, but she had a small glimmer of hope."i dont have a date for prom yet" She glanzed up at Daryl who was chewing on his thumb, a nervous habbit of his that she found adorable. "i dont have a suit" Anna beemed up, this was not a fast rejection she had gotten used too "you could borrow one from my dad, you are the same hight as him, or i could come with you and help you look for one in the store" she knew he had the money, he never seemed to use any money on him self, his clothes always old and wornout, and her dad payd him well. Daryl thought about it for a while and then nodded. Anna smiled widely and leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, this took Daryl by surprise and he tenced alittle, but Anna was to happy to notice. "ill tell my dad that you need tomorrow off, so we can go shop" Daryl just nodded and walked over to his bike and took off. Anna whent to bed smiling from ear to ear, she could not denie that the rough redneck had crept under her skin and made her heart skip a beat, something her parants had noticed aswell and made them happy.  
The next morning Anna waited for Daryl to come, when it was about noone she gave up, Daryl usually came early, had he changed his mind? She had tried to text him, and call him, but no one answered. She grabed the carkeys and desided to go over to his place and see if he was at home, she knew where he lived, Leo had pointed out the road that led up to his house in the woods when she had asked, it had made her friend raise an eyebrow, but she had just brushed it off, like it was no big deal she asked. She pulled up to an old house, looking more like a shed then a house, old car parts was scattered all over the lawn, that was not cut in months, she saw Daryls bike in the driveway so she knew he was home. She walked up to the door and tried to knock, but no one answered, she could hear voices comming from the inside, she pushed on the door and it gave in, the voices became clear " so ya think ya to good for us now, is that how it is,huh?" she heard a man yelling "no, mr Hansen pays good money for the work i do on his house" she heard Daryl answer " she heard ruffeling sounds comming from inside " A Dixon slaves for no one" Another angry voice could be heard "aaaaa, i dont think its the money that makes babybrother sniff around their bushes, hes been giving it to the lil blond bitch" Anna held her hand over her mouth to keep quiet as she gasped "its not like that, beside its non of ya buisness" she heard a raw laughter ripp through the air "that lil blond bitch thinks shes too good for a Dixon, huh?" She heard Daryl try to denie it "they arent like that, they are good people!" another raw laughter "aaaaa i think baby brother is smitten by the lil bitch, what the hell ya waitin for baby brother? a written invitation to her bed??? " raw, evil laughter " if ya not gonna pop her cherry, then i sure as hell will!" She heard a growl and someone snarwl "she aint for ya, dont ya dare come near her!" she could hear the sickening sound of a fist beating into flesh "ya dont talk like that to ya older brother! hanging out with those prissy assholes made ya think yar better then us! ill teach ya a lesson!" Another beating could be heard, a soar crying out for mercy "dont tell me ya dont know how to use ya dick boy?!?" she could hear something break " baby brother still a virgin" laughter "better bed that bitch or els ill take her" She was just about to turn and run back to her car when the door was ripped open and she stood face to face with Daryl, the boy who made her heart flutter, she looked up at him and met his intense blue eyes, she could see he had a nasty bruise forming around a swollen eye, a busted lip and she could see he had been bleeding through his nose. Anna gasped and reached up to touch his beaten face, he just grabed her arm and draged her towards her car "ya shouldnt have come here!" he snarld. She could not belive her eyes "Daryl what happened? who are those men?" A raw laughter could be heard from the front door " aaaaa babybrother got a hot date, arent ya gonna invite her in and let us have a good look at ya lil girlfriend there Daryl?" Anna turned and looked at the young man standing in the dorway, she recognized him from school " go to hell Merle" Daryl shouted and pushed her into the passangerseat, he jumped into the drivers seat and drove out of the driveway like they had the devil on their tail.  
Daryl was quiet, Annas head was full of questions from what she had heard, from Daryls beaten face. Daryl pulled over before they reached her house, he sat quiet staring into the air, Anna was nervous, not knowing what to say, she had never in her life heard something like this. "why did ya come?" Daryl broke the silence, his voice was cold and hard, she had never heard his voice like that. Anna took a deep breath and held it for a second " we where gonna go shopping today, you did not show up so i was gonna go see if you where alright" she glanzed over at him, but he continued to just stare into the air "what did ya hear?" Anna saw how uncomfortable Daryl was, she did not know what to answer "why did they talk about my family like that?" this made Daryl see that she had heard the whole conversation between him, Merle and their dad. He did not answer, but just fired up the engine and drove last bit and parked the car in the big driveway, he rounded the car and held the door open for Anna to get out, then gave her the keys and grabed his crossbow and slung it over his sholder "tell ya dad i aint working for him no more." Anna looked up into Daryls blue eyes, she saw they where full of sorrow for a second before they turned cold, almost made her think she had just imagined it. He turned on his heals "why?" she asked to his back, he just glanzed over his sholder "i just cant" was all he said as he walked into the forrest and disaperad. With a heavy heart she walked inside, she placed the carkeys on the kitchen counter and just stood there. Her mom noticed and pulled her in for a hug, this made her eyes tear over and she started crying, heavy heart breaking sobs was the only thing that could be heard. "Whats the matter sweety?" her mother asked and stroked gently over her long blond hair. "Daryl is not comming back?" was all she could manage to say between the sobs, her mother pulled her over to the kitchen table and made her sit down, she waited until Anna had pulled her self together, her dad walked in and joined them at the table. Anna told them what had just happend and started crying again. "yes, ive heard rumors around town that mr. Dixon beats his sons, i knew the rumors was true when he started showing up here with those bruises. " her dad said and her mother gasped "oh my, why didnt you say anything, we should notify cps" Anna stayed quiet. "the boy is 18, cps cant do anything, it is his choise to stay there" Annas mother and father exchanged looks and then looked at Anna, she couldnt say a word, she just got up and whent to her room.  
The day of the prom came and with a heavy heart Anna looked her self in the mirror, she was wearing a soft pink silk dress that clung to her body, her mother had curled her hair and pinned the sides up so the curls was flowing down her bare back, she looked beautiful if it wherent for her sad silvery eyes. She had not seen Daryl for a week now, she missed him so much. The doorbell rang out and for a second she was hoping that Daryl had changed his mind and desided to come with her to the prom afterall. "Anna?" her mother called "Leo and Mary are here, are you ready?" she let out the breath she didnt know she was holding, and the knot in her stomach was back, she sighed to the reflection of her self in the mirror and walked down the stairs, she had gotten used to pretending that everything was fine, so she glued a smile on her lips and greeted her friends. Arriving at the school shortly after she saw how beautifully decorated it was, and she desided that she should atleast try to have a good time, the girls that was on the cheerleading squad greeted them with hugs and what Anna had come to learn was fake smiles. She smiled half heartedly back and let her self get pulled into their embrace. After dancing and chatting about the rumors going around school she was handed a glass of punch from one of the girls, she drank it down in two large gulps, with that meny people in one room it made it warm, and she was hot from all the dancing, she thought the punch was alittle on the strong side but did not think anything more about it.

 

Daryl had been thosing and turning in his bed for houers now, his body still sore from the beating he had endured a week ago, getting a beating from his father was nothing new to him, but having someone vitnes it was, his heart had almost stoped in his chest when he ran into Anna on his way out. It had killed him to read the shock and pitty in her beautiful silvery eyes, for months he had fooled him self into beliving that maybe he could have a normal future with her, her parants had been so welcoming and accepting towards him, for the first time he had fallen for the mirrage of a loving home, and let himself get feelings for a girl, he had actually thought that maybe she could feel something back about him. He had been such a naive prick, the aircastle he had built up had vanished the second he had steped outside and seen the look in her eyes. He knew that she would never look at him with the same admiration again, she would start to loath him like the rest of the town already did, he was not gonna stand around and see that happen, so he had cut all ties to both her and her parants. The day before he had gotten a check in the mail from mr. Hansen, he had to look twice at the amount written on it, he had been paid for the entire summer, although he had told Anna to tell her father that he could not continue the work on their house. Daryl got up from the bed, it was impossible to get some sleep, although he had the house to himself again, Merle and his dad was out on a bender again, so he knew he would have the house to himself for days. He threw a shirt over his bruised body and pulled on some dirty worn out jeans, he cast a glanze at his bedside table, the check was laying there, mocking him. He grabed it with a grunt and walked out of the house and jumped on his bike.   
Pulling up at the Hansen driveway he killed the engine, he could see mr and mrs Hansen sitting outside on the porch, enjoying their dinner in the early evning. They had heard the roaring of his bike and was waving at him, he shuffled his feet alittle before he made his way up at the porch. "Daryl, how wonderful to see you, are you hungry? sit down and ill go inside and grab you a plate" Mrs Hanson said, Always warm and welcoming, it had taken some time to get used too, but now it struck a cord inside of him, and he now realized how much he had missed these nice people. "nah, ill only stay for a minute" he said before he shoved his thumb in his mouth, the other hand he pulled out the check from his back pocket and placed it on the table. "I came to give this back" he mumbled and looked at Mr, Hansen. who grabed the piece of paper and looked at it, then the man looked up and met his eyes "why not Daryl, you have earned the money" Daryl shuffled his feet alittle, " i cant finish the work and ya paid me to much" Mr. Hansen pointed at a chair and told Daryl to sit down, Daryl didnt wanna repay these people kindness with being rude so he sat down like a trained dog, he looked down at the table and chewed on his lip. "I want you to finish the work Daryl, i cant do it on my own, and i think im doing us both a favor by demanding that you continue. You need the time away from your destructiv family. We have noticed a big change in you Daryl since you started working here" Daryl stayed quiet, there was nothing more he wanted then to keep comming to their house every weekend, but agrevating his dad more would lead to more beatings. Who was he kidding, his dad would always find a reason to beat him. Mrs Hansen sat down next to him and sat a plate full of food infront of him, he had hardly eaten for a week, since all his dad used his money on was alcohol and bar rounds. His mouth started watering from the delisious aroma. "You know, Anna have missed you terribly" Mrs Hansen said, and a lump in Daryls throat started to grow, he had missed her as well. Mrs Hansen continued "From the look of your face right now, my dear, i think you really miss her too, you two had become awfully close the last month or so." She grabed his hand and squeesed it "Daryl, you need to know how much it pleased me and my husband to see. We really apretiate your influance on Anna. You are a truley a good kid. You need to start and belive that your self. " Daryl pulled his hand out of her grip, he could not listen to this any longer, the lump that was forming in his throat was getting bigger. He was just about to get up and head home, when Mr. Hansen made him halt " Daryl, we know about your family situation. We know how your dad is, we have seen the beating that you get at home. We have heard the story of your mothers passing. We know the situation is hard for you. But you need to know that we see who you are Daryl. And we care about you." This was the final straw for him, never had anyone cared about how his situation was, people just assumed he was up to no good becouse of his brother and his dad. No one had really cared about him. He slump his sholders and he sighed. The walls he had used all his life to build up suddenly crumbled down infront of him becouse of these two people and their daughter, a sudden panick struck him, and he almost started to hyperventilate. Mrs. Hansen saw how much he was struggeling comming to terms with what they said, and she pulled him in for a long and warm embrace, he sniffled against her sholder and she continued to stroke his back, something that made him winch alittle from his bruising. Mrs. Hansen pulled up his shirt before he could protest or pull out of the embrace and deep scaring and the black and blue bruising was evident for her eyes. She gasped and looked at her husband "That is it" Mr. Hansen said. "I know you wount take the work willingly if i offered it, becouse you are loyal to youˋr father, but now i am forcing you, and you will stay here every weekend. We would wish for you to move in permenantly but, i know you would never accept such an offer, so it will be each weekend instead. And i wount accept no for an answer, if youˋr father have a problem with that, then send him to me. And for god sakes, keep the money, lord knows you have earned it" Daryl just nodded. He was speachless. He looked at them both and could only see the warmth radiating from their eyes. "Now if you would not mind, dear, i would very much apretiate it, if you go to the prom and keep an eye on Anna for us. " Daryl looked down at his scruffy clothes. "I dont have a suit" he said apologetic, alittle embarrased about his poor situation that they had seen through. "Oh not to worry my dear, i will find something that will fit you. And leave your bike here, and take my husbands truck."   
Daryl could hardly belive his eyes when he looked himself up and down in the mirror as Mrs. Hansen arranged his newly washed hair. He looked like all the other kids at school, No, that is not right, he looked better, the suit they had found for him was expensive, more expensive then anyone at school could ever afford.  
When he arrived at school, a angsty feeling came over him. Would Anna be happy that he showed up afterall or would she be pissed at him. He walked into the gym and looked around, so meny people, how the hell where he suppose to find Anna now, he didnt even know the color of her dress. He spotted Leo on the other side of the room and he whent over to him, he leaned into him and shouted, so Leo could hear him over the loud music "Wheres Anna?" Leo looked at him alittle suspiciously "Her parants told me to take her home" Leo suddenly smiled, so Anna had told him that he worked for her father, Leo leaned in " Anna wasnt feeling well, so Mary took her to the ladys room, they have been there for a while now, maybe we should check on them" Daryl nodded, and followd after Leo. As they reached the bathroom doors Mary came out "Oh there you are, i tried calling you, but i guess you didnt hear it over the music" she stated, Daryl saw her eyes widen as she saw him behind Leo. "What is he doing here?" she asked Leo. Leo grinned "hes here to take Anna home". You could see the relife in her eyes "Oh perfect, good luck with that, shes in there, drunk as hell. I guess someone spiked her punch, she have no idea how she got drunk". Daryl mumbled out profanities as he brushed past them and whent into the ladys room. He saw only one stawldoor open and two legs sticking out, he ran over and looked inside, he had to choke a laugh when he saw her, she had been crying, her make up all smudged down her face, her hair was a mess, but her dress was still pretty. She looked up at him and used some time to focus, but when she realized who it was her sad expression was gone and replaced with a wide smile "Daryl!!!!!" she tried to stumble up on her feet, she lost balance becouse of the highheals she was wearing. He rushed over and grabed her waist. "you came!" she breathed into his face, her breath made him cringe, smelling both alcohol and vomit. "Yeah i came for ya... gonna take ya drunkass home now darlin" she pushed at his chest alittle and sniffled alittle "I cant go home now, i dont feel well, i dont know what happened" Daryl pulled her closer and forced her to take another step, something that did not go to well, he grabed her by her waist and under her knees and lifted her up in his arms. "yeah i kno darlin, ya commin home with me, can sleep off the booz and then ill drive ya home in ta mornin" Anna just sighed happily and leaned her head into Daryls sholder. He kicked the door open and carried her outside, catching peoples attention along the way. 

Safely inside his house he placed her on his bed "Ya can sleep here" he said and was about to turn when she grabed his hand, he looked down at her and met her beautifully begging silvery orbs "im thirsty", Daryl grinned, "ill get you some water, just wait here." He whent to the kitchen and grabed a glass of cold water and some crackers, he walked back to the room and stoped dead in his tracks when he saw her trying to drag her dress over her head, a whine could be heard underneath the fabric "Daryl....... im stuck". He placed the glass and crackers on the bedside table and pulled on the dress. "What are you doin? " suddenly he stood there with the silky fabric in his hands and Anna sitting infront of him in only a bra and panties " i cant sleep in the dress, it will get ruined" Daryl kept his eyes on the floor, and hang the dress carefully over a chair, he was about to walk out of the room when she grabed his hand again "Please stay" her pleeding made him sigh to himself, she was really pushing his limits to what he could handle. She pulled him back to the bed and made him slump down next to her on the matress. She stumbled up on her feet, grabed the crackers, and shoved them not very lady like into her mouth and flushed them down with the water, when she was done she smiled down at him, he tried not to look at her half naked body, but his eyes where pulled to the perfection that was her no matter how hard he tried to resist. Anna noticed and smiled a sensual smile, she walked over to him and stradled his lap, Daryl grunted and tried to push her off, but she grabed his hands and interlocked their fingers " I have missed you Daryl" she whispered, he knew this was only drunken talk and that she where going to regret what she did and said the next day. He had seen this way to often. "ya shold get some sleep" he said, trying to change the subject. She playfully and half stubbornly bounced on his lap, that made Daryl winch, he did not want her to notice how her sitting on his lap effected him. His blood was on fire and he was getting harder by the minute, he did not know how long he could take this sweet torture. "No Daryl, you dont understand, i have missed you so much, i am really happy you came today, and you look so dreamy" the sensual smile was back on her lips and she leaned down and pulled on his tie, she even licked her bottom lip, his eyes was glued to her every movement, she placed his hands on her hips, he squeezed slightly, to tempted to touch her soft skin, she laughed and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Oh fucking hell, she even smelled delicious, she pressed her body close to his, he could feel her round breast push up against his chest, this made his dick throb painfully in his pants and his heart to race. She pulled back with the sensual smile back on her plump lips "I think you are happy to see me as well" she said with a soft laughter, she leaned down and kissed his lips softly, Daryl body tenced up, she continued to kiss his cheek, down his neck, Daryls breath got heavy " take me Daryl, i know your not interested in a relationship, but i want to be yours for just one night" she whispered into his ear, this made him snap out of his daze, she thought he wasnt interested, when all he had thought about was her for the last two months, even in his dreams he longed for her. He gently pushed her off of him and layed her down on his bed and pulled the sheets over her to cover her half naked body. "ya know nothin, girl, now sleep, ya will see shit differently tomorrow", his words was answered with a big yawn, her eyes heavy from sleep "Daryl, dont leave, lay here with me" All he wanted to do was get out of his room and take a cold shower, calm himself down and get some sleep on the couch, but instead he pulled off his jacket, and the tie and slid under the covers. She turned and tugged on his shirt and pants "Take it off Daryl, im freezing" , not able to resist her demands he pulled the shirt over his head and threw the pants on the floor, she snuggled into him and rested her head on his chest "You smell so nice Daryl" she mumbled before her breath got heavy and he could feel her whole body relax into his. She was sleeping, now a long and restless night was ahead of him, he sighed and forced his eyes closed.

The next morning she woke up, her head was pounding and her mouth felt dry, like she ate a bag of cotton the night before. She felt a warm body next to her, she opened her eyes and glanzed over her surroundings, she did not recognize the room, it was messy, dusty, clothes everywhere, car parts and bike parts littered the floor, she lifted her head and she stared right onto a broad chest with tatoos on it, alittle panicky she forced her orbes to move upwards and she stared right into Daryls sky blue eyes "good mornin" he said with his scruffy deep voice, a shiver ran through her body but she surpressed it. She jumped to the end of the bed, pulling the sheet they had been sharing with her to cover her half naked body. "Oh god" she mumbled, Daryl pulled his hands behind his head and watched her, waiting for her to say something. "Daryl, what happend last night?" Daryl grinned and snickerd " what ya did before i got to school i have no clue, but ya where pretty wasted, almost passed out at the shitter when i found ya" she hid her face in her hands, too embarrased to look at him "how we end up here?" Daryl layed his right arm over his forhead and looked out the dirty window next to his bed "didnt want ya to get into trouble with ya parants, so thought ya could sleep it off here, ill drive ya home later" Anna gasped and looked up "my parants, they must go crazy from worrying, i told them i was gonna come straight home." Daryl met her silvery angsty eyes "nah, they know ya came home with me, told them i had the house to mˋself, that ya where safe". She inhaled and exhaled a couple of times, then her whole body stiffened, she lifted the sheet and looked on her half naked body, then she looked at Daryls naked chest, she could not tell if he was wearing anything under the sheets. "Did we? last night.... did something happen between us?" Daryl knew this was comming, and he was not gonna let her off that easy, it was punishment for the hell she had put him through the night before. "yeah, ya better get ya self checked in a month or somethin" he grabed some old jeans and pulled them on as he spoke, after getting a shirt on he looked at her shocked face "checked?" she whispered questiongly, almost afraid to ask. "yeah ya know stdˋs, if ya knocked up... the whole shit" she gasped "no, this cant be happening, this isnt real" she cryed out into her hands. Daryl looked at her, he knew that she was gonna react like this, that is why he had rejected her the night before, her parants might accept him, but he knew that a girl like Anna would never go for a guy like him. She might look at him as a firend but nothing more. He grabed her dress and threw it at her "relax, ya are just as untouched as the day ya where born.... we didnt do shit, ya fell asleep" a relieved sigh escaped her lips "get ya clothes on, ill drive ya home." the ride back was quiet and awkward, she felt like shit, and Daryl seemed annoyed too. she didnt dare to meet his eyes or even look at him. When he parked the car, she ran into the house and locked her self in her bedroom, to ashamed to talk with her parants.


	3. Devious rumors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Embarrased after her screw up at prom, Anna had been avoiding people. When she desides to return to the living, she gets a nasty surprise.

A few days had passed, school was over for the summer and Anna had tried to avoid people as much as she could, her prom night was whiped out of her memory, but luckely she had not done anything stupid or embarracing, she had asked both Leo and Mary and they only confirmed what Daryl had said, that someone spiked her punch, she got wasted and passed out in the ladys room, then Daryl had come like a knight in shining armor and carried her to the car. Mary had said that seeing Daryl so gentle with her made her question some things she had heard about him, and she had responded with a i told you so meme. Mary had asked her to hang out at the diner that afternoon, and she had accepted, she could not avoid people forever, after a few texts back and forth she agreed and she headed down to the diner.  
She found a place near the entrence and waited for Mary to come, meanwhile she sent Daryl a text, asking if he wanted to come over for a movie later that night, as usual he did not respond, Mary came in and took a seat on the other side of the table. "So?" She said with a hugh grin "You and Daryl Dixon, huh?" she wiggled her eyebrows and made kissing sounds, this made Anna blush terrible "No we arent together" Mary pouted her lips but then she recognized the longing in Annas voice "But you really want to, dont you?" Mary pretended to look at the menu "I dont blame you, he is develishly good looking, if i did not have Leo i would sertainly be a Daryl fan" They both laughed from Marys joke, both knowing Mary was living and breathing for Leo. Anna sighed "He is nice" she said, Mary looked at her and raised her eyebrow "Nice?, oh honey, the way you always talk about him, and how you look at him, you are so lost in him that you could not find your way out even if it was lit up" Anna sighed dreamingly again and they both laughed "Yes you are right, after getting to know him, i have fallen for him, that is true. I just dont know if he is into me" Mary looked at her like another head had just grown out of her neck " Are you kidding? That boy could kiss the ground you walked on. How he so gently carried you out to the car at prom, i was not the only person thinking it was cute" Anna looked at her alittle unsure "Do you think?" Mary just nodded as their milkshake arrived to their table. They stayed and talked while they enjoyed the sweet milkshake, when they where done they got up from their table and headed over to their cars, outside they saw Daryl and Merle pull up and park their bikes, Anna waved to Daryl but he just glared at her, she saw Merle walk into the diner and desided to talk with Daryl. "Hey Daryl, did you get my text? Do you want to come over for a movie tonight?" Daryl did not even look at her "Nah" he grunted, she could see him cleanshing his jaw. This was not like him. She reached out to grab his hand and he pulled away from her "Daryl, whats wrong?" This ignighted something in him and he towered over her, red in the face and his blue eyes filled with hatred "whats wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with ya? first i save ya fucking wasted ass, then ya turn around and tell the whole fucking town i fucking raped ya?!? Ya lying bitch! i didnt fucking touch ya!!!" Daryl was shouting, all Anna could do was just stand there like a deer cought in headlights, she was speachless. "What are you talking about Daryl? " His face was now inches from hers "Ya dumb bitch!, couldnt deal being seen with some dirty redneck so had to come up with some bullshit story to not lose ya face infront of ya fancy friends over there" he nodded towards Mary. Anna looked over at Mary that looked just as clueless as she was "But you said nothing happened" Daryl scofted "thats right nothin happend, no thanks to ya tho, grinding ya slutty ass all over me. Keep away from me ya lying bitch!" Annas eyes had started to tear up. This made Daryl scoft even harder and he got back on his bike, Merle came out the same second, he glared at Anna as he got on his bike and they drove off. as Anna watched Daryl and Merle drive down the road, her eyes welled up and the tears made their way down her cheeks, what had just happend. Mary walked over to her and rubbed her arm "what was that all about?", Anna shruged and shook her head "i have no idea, things where fine between us when he drove me home. Mary pulled her into a hug "I am going to talk to Leo and the others, maybe they have heard something" Anna just nodded and sniffled as she hugged Mary back before she got into her car, she whiped her cheeks and she saw Mary call Leo.   
As she parked her car in the driveway, she spotted a police car parked behind her parants car, she ran up the stairs to the front door and into the kitchen, where both her parants and two police officers met her questiongly gaze "whats going on?" she said, her voice alittle squeeky. Her mother came over and grabed her hands and squeezed them, she had a sad look in her eyes and she pulled Anna over to chair and made her sit down. "Anna? Did something happen at the prom that you want to tell us?" she asked, her voice full with sympathi. Anna bit her lip, she knew she had not told her parants that she had gotten drunk, but she could not see how that could be a matter for the police, so she just shook her head. One of the officers looked at her deep in the eyes and cleared his voice " What do you remember from the prom?" Anna sighed alittle annoyed that she had to share her embarracing screw up with everyone. "I whent there with Mary and Leo, met the rest of the girls, we danced and talked, i drank alittle punch, i guess it was spiked, becouse my head started spinning, Mary followed me to the laydies room so i could get better, i felt shitty for a while, and im realy sorry mom, i didnt mean to get drunk, i didnt know there was something in the punch, everyone was drinking from it and they seemed fine. " The police officer nodded and wrote something down on his notepad "Then what happend? Do you remember?" Anna grabed a string of her platinum blond hair and studied it " Daryl came and carried me to the car" The officers exchanged looks "Do you mean Daryl Dixon, miss?" Anna nodded. "He told me my parants had sent him, he was borrowing my dads truck." The officers looked at her father "Is this true mr. Hansen?" Her father nodded "Yes, he works for me, so he is here every weekend, Anna and Daryl are friends. He ate dinner here, then i lend him one of my suits and my truck to get Anna safly home". The officer nodded and turned his gaze back to Anna and studied her " What happend after mr Dixon had picked you up at school? " Anna bit her bottom lip, her eyes flickered at her parants, she hated to disapoint them with this, she knew she was not alowd to drink. " I was too drunk and i did not want to upset my parants, so Daryl drove me to his house, he said he had texted my parants and told them" The officers glanzed over at her parants and they nodded to confirm that it was true, so she continued " He gave me a glass of water and crackers to make me feel abit better. And then he told me to sleep it off" The officers still looked at her, like they where waiting for her to go on " Did Mr. Dixon stay in the same room as you? Bed maybe? " Anna swallowd hard and looked down at the table. "Yes, he did, but only becouse i asked him too, i was so cold. " Annas mother grabed her hand and squeezed it across the table "You can tell us Anna, we wount be mad at you, you can trust us" Anna looked dumbfonded at her mother then back at the police officers "Miss Anna. Did you consent to have sex with Mr. Dixon?" Annas eyes widened and a deep blush crept up her face, she could not belive this was happening. She felt so embarrased. Her mother squeezed her hand again "What? NO!" she squeeked. Did she just enter the twilight zone when she walked into the house just now. What was happening. The officer continued "So you did not consend to it?" Anna could not understand what all of this was about, then suddenly it dawned on her, from what Daryl had said outside of the diner and the officers being at her house. "Are you guys asking me if Daryl raped me?" The officers just stared at her "Let me tell you guys something, he did not rape me, we did not have sex. He was the perfect gentleman, he only did what i asked of him and that was to keep me warm" She looked at the officers and then her parants "you have to belive me, nothing happend." The officer who had asked her questions cleared his voice again "Are you sure of this?" Anna was starting to get annoyed, feeling she was not being heard. "Yes i am very sure!"  
The officer kept writing on his notepad. "why have you told people that Mr. Dixon raped you miss? It is a serious accusation, we do not take lightly on things like this" Anna pulled her hands through her hair in frustration "I have never said that, i did not know about this until i came home just now." She looked over at her parants, her father was starting to get agetated too. "If Anna says she have not started these rumors, then i belive her. And we know Daryl, like i said, him and Anna are close friends, he would not hurt her in any way. " Annas phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it up and read the text from Mary, her parants and the police where talking, her father starting to rais his voice. She interupted them " well this will sertainly clear things up, one of my friends have just heard the rumors too. Some of the girls in the cheerleader squad at school have put out the rumors just to be mean. They just want to screw with Daryl" Her mother gasped and the two officers exchanged looks again, then they got up from their chair and apolegized for taking up their time. Her father walked them to the door and let them out, when he came back into the kitchen he leaned his hip against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest " they are going to investigate and find out who put those rumors out." Her mother looked at her husband "Poor Daryl. Think that someone can be so evil and hurt that sweet boy" she paused and met Annas eyes " maybe you should try to call him and explain it too him, if he have not heard anything then atleast he will be aware of the rumors." Anna sighed "He already heard the rumors, me and Mary ran into him and his brother at the diner, Daryl was pretty upset with me. I think im the last person he wants to talk to right now. He told me to never talk to him again. " Her father sighed after hearing Anna " The betrail must have hurt him alot. But i am sure if you can explain to him, that he will come to his sences, it is not like you to lie about something like this. Anna got up from her seat and walked outside, she sat down on the porch and diled Daryls number, it was ringing.

Daryl was sloutching on the sofa. When Merle had told him about the rumors going around town it had crushed him, at first he could not belive that Anna could have said something that nasty, he thought they where friends, he trusted her, he had let her break down his walls and made him care about her, that girl had turned his world upside down, had made his heart race everytime he saw her, had made him dream about her. When she had been sleeping in his arms he had been on fucking cloud nine. How could he have been so stupid, never trust no one, that was the lesson he had learned from an early age. Merle have had a fieldtrip with bringing him the news, Merle knew it could not be true, he knew Daryl would never force himself on a girl, but just that the girl was running around town telling people that he did had been hilarious to him. "its what you get lilbrother for chasing some lil choier pussy" he had laughed from Daryls expression. He grabed another beer and chuged it down, Merle was still sitting next to him, ranting on about how they should go down to the bar and get him a real woman. Daryl have had enough of females for a whole lifetime. His phone buzzed in his pocked and he pulled it up, Anna was calling him, he simply pushed the redphone and hung up, he was in no mood to hear her sobbing. The shock in her eyes when he had joked about them sleeping together had said it all, she would never go for a guy like him unless she was drunk out of her mind. The night before she had been dryhumping him like the world was going to end, and he had been so tempted to do what she was begging for, he could thank a higher power that he had told her to go to sleep. She must have not understood that he was only joking the next morning, maybe she really thought he had dont things to her. Fucking hell. He wished he had never laid his eyes on the girl. So sweet and innocent and yet so devious. All chicks where alike. Another buzzing sound came from his phone as it started ringing again, he hung up this time too. Merle had noticed and was now laughing his ass off "aaaaa lilbrother, looks like the bitch aint done with ya yet!" Daryl just scowled at his brother and got up from the coutch "shut up" he snarled. "suit ya self lilbrother, i need somethin stronger and some willing pussy, im gona head down to tha bar" Daryl too got up and walked over to his bedroom and laid down on his bed, her sweet parfume still lingering in the pillow so he threw it on the floor with a grunt. His phone continue to ring every five minutes, he turned it off and threw it on the floor before he pushed the heels of his hand against his eyes. Why the fuck had she done this, he could take a hint, he could stay clear of her, she didnt need to go around spreading nasty rumors about him, and get him into trouble with the police. Suddenly he heard a clunk on his window, he looked at hit, but could see nothin, must have been a fucking bird he thought, and then it was another clunk, now he saw it was a pebbel, he sat up and looked outside, his eyes meeting a pair of silvery grays. "What tha hell" he mumbled.... why the fuck was she doing at his house, hadnt he been clear at the diner.... Anna waved at him, she folded her hands infront of her with a pouty lip and pointed at the door. Daryl desided to ignore her and laid back down in bed, as another pebbel clunk against his window. Suddenly he heard the front door creek open and light footsteps down the hall towards his bedroom. Fucking bitch, couldnt take no for an answer. His door was slowly pushed open and he just cast a glanz at her as she slowly walked into his bedroom. "now ya trasspassing too, gonna turn it around and squeel all over town that i broke inta ya house too?" he pulled his arm over his eyes and tried to block her out "Daryl, im really sorry, but if you wherent such a stubbornhead, then i could have explained myself on the phone, but you hung up everytime i tried to call you, you ignored my texts i sent you too. You forced me to come here" Daryls anger flaired up with full force and in a second he was on his feet towering over her "dont ya fucking dare to say i forced ya to do shit" Anna still calm, placed her hand on his chest to try and calm him down alittle, he brushed her hand away "dont ya fucking touch me" Anna just stared into his eyes and blinked, he was breathing hard "I did not spread those rumors, but i think i might have an idea who did. I havent talked to anyone about anything until today when i met Mary at the diner" he scoffed at her, not beliving a word that came out of her devious mouth. Anna grabed his arm and firebolts shot through his arm. Why the hell did this girl still have an effect on him. "Daryl please, you have to belive me, i would never say something so mean and hurtfull about you" Anna continued to beg, he turned around and glared her "why not? girls like ya dont give a shit about guys like me" Anna took one step closer to him and brushed some blond tresses of hair out of his beautiful blue eyes "you know that is not true, we are friends" he scoffed again "yeah friends" he said sarcastically. A couple of months ago he had played with the thought of how it would be to be friends with her, before prom things had changed and he had played with the thought of being more then friends with her, but after the morning he had woken up with her in his arms and seeing her frightend eyes then she had made it very clear to him that she would never want him like that. He turned away from her and was about to slump back on the bed, but she walked infront of him, right in his face again, what the hell was up with her, couldnt she just leave him alone. "Daryl" she said with her soft pleeding voice and her silvery orbs, his stomack twisted and turned when he looked into her eyes. " i promise you i have never said those things, the police where at my house when i got home, and i explained everything. " Daryl just looked at her, her words slowly sinking in and made the red fog of anger disapear alittle "Why?" he chewed on his lip "becouse i care about you, and i have missed you so much, and i want people to see how wonderful you are, i told them how you picked me up at prom and helped me through my stupidity. I told them someone spiked my punch and how you took care of me" Daryl didnt say a word, no one had ever stood up for him before, no he corrected himself, Anna had, that time the police had assumed he was about to break into her fathers truck. "My parants belived me Daryl, they did not think you could do such an awful thing, and they know i would never lie about something like that" her voice sweet and soft like always, he closed his eyes for a second and tried to keep him self from getting lost in those slivery pools that was her eyes. He sat down on his bed with his hands in his lap, his thoughts was chaos, could he belive her, his heart was screaming yes, but his head was telling him to thread carefully, he was only gonna get hurt if he started trusting her and let her back in. He felt his bed give in alittle as she carefully sat down next to him, she gently placed her hand on his figety fingers and interlocking her small hand with his big, watching how her small hand fit in his big made the rest of the wall he had tried to rebuild crumble "Daryl, are we good?" he could hear the pleeding in her voice, he looked at her from the corner of his eye and nodded, she gave his hand a tight squeez and a relieved sigh escaped her lips, Daryl chewed on his lip. They sat in an awkward silence on his bed, non of them knowing what to say now. Daryl wanted to pull her into a tight hug, feel her body close to his, but he knew that would be overstepping the line. "Daryl?" he could hear the nervousness in her voice and he quickly glanzed at her, her cheeks had a light tint of red and she stared at their hands. " What did you mean at the diner, that nothing happend, but it was no thanks to me? " Daryl swallowd hard and images of her half naked on his lap, grinding herself onto him started popp into his mind. He pulled his hand from hers and started chewing on his thumb."its nothin..... dont worry about it" he mumbled, painfully aware that those images was starting to make him hard again. "No, tell me, what did you mean by that?. You also called me a slutty bitch, what did i do to make you think i was a slut?" He closed his eyes, if only he could sink into a hole right now, or turn back time so he could take back what he had called her. He blushed deeply "while ya where drunk ya did somethin" he hoped she could leave it with that, but knowing her, he knew she would not. "What did i do? " Daryls mouth felt dry and his palms was sweaty, he rubbed his hands on his tighs, she was surly gonna run out of his house now and he would never see her again "ya kissed me and dryhumped me half naked and was beggin me ta fuck ya" he didnt dare to meet her gaze, really embarrased. "oh" was all she said for while, another awkward silence fell over them and Daryl started chewing on his thumb again "its no big deal, ya where drunk, i know ya didnt mean that shit" Daryl mumbled, Anna watched him curiously and coughed alittle "why didnt you?" she asked , Daryl looked at her nervously, was she for real? "ya where wasted, ya where gonna regret it" Anna sighed and leaned her head into his sholder, this made Daryl tence up, Anna had started to do stuff like that after they had become friends, she was like that with her friends at school too, so he knew not to make it into more then it was, still it made shockwaves run through his body everytime she came near him. It always made him tence and on guard, he was not used to stuff like this at all. "You are probably right, i would regret it." she got quiet "yeah" he grunted, starting to get alittle annoyed that she would rub salt in his wounds like that. He knew girls like her didnt fall for dirty rednecks. "i would regret it becouse i would not remember it the next day and that is something i deffently would want to remember" Anna interupted his trail of self loathing thoughts and his jaw almost droped to the floor, what did she mean by that? He wanted to ask her, but did not want to seem dumb. He pulled a pack of smokes up from his pocket and lit a smoke and took a deep pull of it "yeah, heard chicks put a whole deal into their first time" Anna still had her head on his sholder and he could just turn his head alittle and then get a wiff of her mindblowing scent. He had a fluttery feeling in his stomack when he couldnt help himself, he closed his eyes. "im sure you are right, when it is with someone special." she said almost dreamly. She looked up at him, he tried not to stare into her eyes but everytime he was around her he lost all control over his body. "how was yours?" He just shruged his sholders and took another pull of the smoke before he put it out into a empty sodacan littering the floor. "Was i terrible?" he looked back down at her, not getting what she was asking "terrible at what?" he asked, his voice alittle angsty, he deffently did not like the path this conversation had been taking, it was embarrasing as all hell. "When i dryhumped you? was i terrible at it?" Yet again her questions shocked him, what was it with her today, couldnt she talk about the freaking weather instead, then this shit. "no" if only he had a shovel right now so he could digg a hole and disapear. His answer made her smile a cheeky smile, he swallowd hard and held his breath, how much more could he take of this "did you like it? " oh hell no, she did not just ask that. If he lied then she would see it in his face, he felt his cheek burning up, his dick throbbing hard in his pants from her being so near and making him think about her naked on his lap again. "yeah" he coughed nervously, she must think im a perv he thought to himself. Anna giggled alittle, she leaned up and kissed his cheek, this made him turn towards her and look at her, they where only inches apart, and he could feel her sweet breath on his skin and lips, he was so tempted to just lean in and kiss her, taste those plump pink lips that had been haunting him in his dreams for months. "i want to try it again" she whispered, his dick jumped in his pants alittle from hearing her words, was she serious. Soft lips brushed lightly against his, Daryl froze alitle, not knowing if this was just one of his dreams or if it was reality, was she actually kissing him for real. He could feel one of her hands resting on his sholder and then her lips brushing gently against his again, waiting for him to react. He laid his alittlebit shakey hands on her cheeks, cupping her face and pressed his lips gently into hers, his tongue slowly and gently gliding over her bottom lip, silently asking for premission to enter her warm velvety mouth, she did to Daryls surprise, and her tongue eagerly met his, she tasted like warm summers and honey, he closed his eyes and his hand glided through her silky smooth tresses and he placed it on the back of her head, guiding her to bick her head alittle to the side, this made him get better acces to her soft lips. His heart was raising, the puls beating hard in his ears, he slowly let go of her lips and placed small kisses down her jawline and down her neck until he found that soft spot right under her ear, he pressed his lips gently on it before he slowly let his tongue draw circles over it, a soft moan escaped her lips, this was like music to Daryls ears, he had never heard anything that beautiful, he felt her hands snaking around his neck and into his hair and he was on her lips again in an instant, making them both breathless, when he pulled away they where both panthing. He felt her small fingers brush his tresses out of his eyes and he looked into her silvery pools. He could drown in them and he now realized even how hard he tried to fight it, he would never be able to resist this feeling that had been building up inside of him ever since the first time he laid his eyes on her. He had to make her his.


	4. Out camping.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna and Daryl have grown closer and admitted to them self and to eachother the feelings they have for one another. Anna keeps pushing him to go on a real date, but the whole dinner/movie thing is not something he is comfortable with, he takes her out on what he considers a perfect date, will Anna like it as much as he does?

Anna was laying in her bed, she squinted over at the alarm clock on her bedstand, oh seriously, she thought, it was only 9:00 in the morning, no school, and still she was awaken by hammering sound from outside. She closed her eyes and as soon as she did images from the previous day started popping up in her mind. She had kissed Daryl! Oh my god, she had kissed Daryl! A wide grin aperad on her plump lips. She had been wanting to kiss him for months now, where had she gotten the currage. It had felt amazing, he was amazing! The fluttery feeling in her stomach was back, she had gotten used to the feeling by now, it aperad everytime she thought about him, looked at him or was near him, she was in love! Her heart sang!  
A sudden nervousnes filled her, what if Daryl was not into her like she was into him, what if he had only kissed her back for the curiousity only. They had only been kissing, on his bed, he could have gone further, she had been like putty in his hands, she had wanted him to go further, but he had gently pushed her back and taken her home, then he had disaperad into the woods, with his bow slung over his sholder. She had been to happy to care about it then, but now. What had it ment?. The restless thoughts filled her head, made her whole body restless, she threw off her beddings and got up, she pulled on some shorts and a tanktop.  
The noise outside had stoped, and when she reached the kitchen, Daryl stood by the counter and drank a glass of cold water, she swallowd hard when he met her gray orbs. A sudden nervousnes made her palms sweaty and her heart beat faster. "Uhm hi" she squeeked. He nodded at her while he finished his glass of water. "Where is my parants?" Daryl put the glass down in the sink, "they left for work an houer ago, ya slept in" she looked at him, sleep in? it was barely 9:00. "I thought you wherent gonna continue the work until this weekend?" Daryl eyes was burning into her back as she walked over to the refridgerator and pulled out some orange juice, she turned and met his stare "does it bother ya?" he simply asked, with what she had come to learn was his guarded voice. She shook her head and grabed a glass and poored some juice "no, not at all, i was just wondering why you where working now, when you have only been here on the weekends?" She watched him as he shruged his sholders "my old man and Merle is gone, so thought i was gonˋget some work done, donˋhave anythin els ta do". He was about to walk outside again when she raised her voice again "Daryl, about yesterday....." He turned halfway and looked at her over his sholder with suddenly cold eyes "donˋ worry about it!" and with that he walked outside. Her good mood crashed, did he regret kissing her last night, had she sucked that hard, she knew he had been with more experienced girls, oh god, who was she kidding, she did not have any experiance at all, she was probably to boring for him. This thought really pissed her off and she marched out on the porch and over the yard to the barn, Daryl was standing there messuring up some wood he was going to cut, and she pressed her pointer into his sholder. " Dont worry about it?" she said with a stern voice, he was confusing the shit out of her, one minute he was kissing her like it was no tomorrow, the other he acted like she was air. Daryl just blinked at her, she continued to press her pointer into his chest as he turned towards her " You kiss me like i was the last girl on this earth one minute and the next you tell me dont worry about it?!? what the hell Daryl?" she squinted her eyes and looked up at him as alittle smile was playin on his lips. "That was my first kiss Daryl, atleast that i can remember" she was refering to where she had kissed him while she was drunk, but she could not remember that kiss " And you tell me its nothin!, thats deffently not what a girl wants to hear Daryl! It seemed like you enjoyed it as much as i did!" His smile grew into a grin and it made her even more confused, why was he smiling?, the situation was deffently not funny to her. "I didnt say it was nothin" he stated, she looked even more confused up at him, his statement only fuling her anger more, "then what the hell Daryl? " He just shruged his sholders, and that was like pooring gazolin onto her bonfire of anger, she pushed both her hands against his chest, he cought her hands gently and leaned down and kissed her, his tongue brushing against her lips, she opened them and let him in, once his tonge traced over hers, a moan escaped her lips, the fluttering feeling was back, her whole body was thrembeling with an unknown desire. He took a step closer and let go of her hands and cupped her cheek and neck, her hands snaked around his neck and she pressed her body against his. He pulled back and looked at her, she opened her eyes slowly, she could feel her lips pulsating from the intense kiss, she licked them, still tasting him on her lips. Her silvery orbs met his intense stare. She felt week in her knees. "Its not nothin to me either" he simply said with a small smile, that gave her new currage and she leaned up on her toes and brushed against his lips, he wraped his arms around her and pulled her close to him and deepend the kiss, desperatly they both clung to eachother. "mmmmm" she hummed against his lips with a smile when she pulled back alittle, he nibbled on her bottomlip "ya like that, huh?" he asked with a slight grin, "yes" she answered with a dreamy voice, she opened her eyes slowly and lookd straight into his amazingly blue pools. "Do you want to come inside, watch a movie or somethin?" she asked almost out of breath, he simply nodded and followed her into the house, up the stairs and into her room, she could barely close the door before they both was laying on her bed, wraped up in eachothers arms, kissing. Daryl placed a row of small kisses down her cheek, jawline, he found her sweetspot on her neck right under her ear, he licked it and sucked on it, she moaned and she burried her hands in his soft blond tresses, he had one arm placed under her, the free hand he placed on her stomach, playing with the hem of her tshirt, she gasped for air everytime his fingertips brushed against her now sensetive skin. Anna pulled him down for another deep kiss, she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth, her hands traced his broad sholders, god he was built like fucking adonis, she felt each riped mucle in his strong but lean arms, the blood was boiling in her veins and a restless feeling she had never felt before rushed through her body like a tidewave. She felt Daryl tugg on her tshirt, she pulled it over her head and threw it on the floor, Daryl stared down at her, he licked his lips befor he leand down and kissed her cloarbone, she gasped when she felt a prickeling stingy feeling, Daryl grunting against her skin, it almost felt like he had bit down on her skin, he placed his hand on one of her breast over her bra and squeesed it lightly, this made her breath hitch. In a sudden move he had turned them over, making her lay ontop of him, She sat up, and looked down and met his dark glazed over eyes. She pulled his tshirt over his head and it landed on the floor with her tshirt, she straddled his waist and placed her hands on his sholders she rubbed over his sholder and down his chest she raked with her nails, this made him moan, shills whent through her body and she leaned down and placed small kisses on his chest, her tonge circled the skin, "mmm" she murmered from the salty taste. He grabed her hips and pushed her down against him, and she could feel how hard he was, she rolled her hips tryingly, she saw him close his eyes and lean his head back, this made her grind harder into him, the tingeling feeling inside of her grew stronger, she rolled her hips harder and pushed her self against him, he sat up and grabed her and pulled her tight against her while he devouvered her mouth. Suddenly her door flew open and Leo and Mary walked in "Oh holey nightmare" Leo bursted out as they saw Daryl and Anna on the bed. Both Daryl and Anna jumped up, Daryl tried to push Anna behind himself and shield her with his body, this made Anna look at his back, thick scars ran over his back , she wanted to touch them but Leo interupted her. "We tried the doorbell, we even knocked, your car was outside, but i guess we didnt think you where this busy...... " Leo looked at Daryl as Anna bent down and picked up their tshirts, she handed Daryl his, he got dressed and kind of just stood there alittle awkward. Anna rolled her eyes. "Leo, Mary, this is Daryl..... Daryl this is my friends Leo and Mary. Yes i know i know, you guys already know of eachother, but do you guys actually know eachother.?" They all kind of just stood there and stared dumbfounded at her. Mary was the first to snap out of it and she smiled up at Daryl "hi, im one of her fancy friends as you called it" she was joking about Daryls outburst outside of the diner, this made a crimson red shade creep up his neck and cheeks. Leo nodded to Daryl and cleared his voice "we where gonna ask if you wanted to come to the movies with us today?" Anna looked at Daryl, she knew he would never come with them "What if we hang out here and watch a movie instead? all four of us?" Mary met her eyes, she cought on her plan and nodded and grinned. "fine by me" Leo stated, she looked questiongly at Daryl, who just nodded and started to chew his thumb.

It was now three weeks since the movie night with Leo and Mary. It had become a rutine that Daryl worked on the barn during the day, at night they usually played cards or watch movie with Leo and Mary. They where usually at Annas house, they had been invited out to the diner or movie, but Daryl never seemed very keen on that idea. Anna had not want to be pushy and ask why, she had pushed it at the back of her head and enjoyed their little bubble. Daryl was always sweet, caring and attentative when they where along, when others where around he was more stand offish. Today was no different, she had told him that she needed to go to the store and pick something up and he had offered to take her, giving a chanse to be alone with him in the car and maybe make out alittle on the way home had made her smile. At the store it had been like it always was, he waited in the car while she was shopping, he was leaning into the car having a cig when she came out and she walked up to him and leaned into him to kiss his jaw when he pulled back, she looked around and saw a family get out of the car next to them and she rolled her eyes. She took a step back and watched him finish his cig. "Are you ashamed of me?" she could not help but to ask, that question had been lingering in the back of her head for weeks now. People knew they where sort of dating, even her parants had cought them kissing in the kitchen when they thought they where alone. Daryl looked at her and flicked his cigaret but, "get in ta car" he jumped in the car and so did she, but she where not going to let this pass this time, she was done with sweaping her questions under the rug whenever Daryl felt uncomfortable. As she fastened the seat belt she looked over at him "No i mean it Daryl? Are you ashamed of me?" She could see Daryl rolling his eyes and take a deep breath "no im not" she let out a sigh of relif, "then why cant i hug you or kiss you when we are out? why dont you come with me into the store? why cant we go on a proper date?" she kept hammering him with questions, it was like the damn had bursted and it was now just flowing out of her mouth. He just shruged "its non of peoples buisness, dont need to put on a show for them" She stared at him for a couple of minutes then leaned back into her seat "its not like im asking you to take my virginity infront of the whole town, im just suggesting to maybe do something els then just stay in my room and watch movies and play cards." Daryl coughed, surprised by her statement, they had never taking it further then just kissing, alittle grinding with clothes on, so this deffently surprised him. He chewed on his thumb while he kept his eyes on the road, "ya can come huntin with me tomorrow. We can tent out in the woods for a couple of days?" This made Annas face lit up "will you teach me how to track and shoot?" Daryl nodded and gave her a smal smile.

Her parants had not been too thrilled by the idea of Anna and Daryl going camping in the woods together alone, but since Annas birthday was just around the corner they had after alittle begging from Annas part and Daryl assurance that she would be totally safe warmed up to the idea. Her mother had helped her pack and after alot of hugging and kissing and her fathers stern look and advices they where on their way into the woods. Daryl was light on his feet and hardly making any sounds while Anna was stomping around, tripping over almost any bransh, sounding like a whole army, Daryl snickered when he heard Anna yet again curse under her breath after almost tripping for the hundreth time. "Easy there princess, donˋ wanna wake up a hungry bear now, will we?" Annas eyes grew wide and she squeeled "we can get eaten by a bear?" This made Daryl burst out laughing, they had been walking for about 3 houers, and he figured they where deep enough into the woods now to be alone. "Im just messin with ya head, we can camp here" Anna breathed out with relief and sunk down at the forrestfloor on her knees, she pulled her backpack off of her sholders and huffed "you know mr. Dixon, your not very nice, i cant help that i was raised in the city, i have no clue of what to do out here, you shouldnt hold that against me, you should blame my parants" Daryl had pulled out the tent and was now pushing the tentplugs down into the soft ground. "i know, sorry princess, i didnt mean shit about it. Ill teach ya how ta survive out here" Anna rolled her eyes and sarcastically answered "oh thank lord allmighty, your my knight in shining armor, teaching me to survive out in the woods, that way i know how to build a fire if my stow at the university breaks down in the fall" This made Daryl snap his head towards her, he stared at her without blinking "ya moving?" he blurted out, his voice had a hint of sorrow and confusion. "yeah i have aplayd for different collages, i was accepted, isnt that great?" Daryl had pulled him self together, he didnt want to show her that the thought of her leaving made his heart drop "yeah great" he muttered "sit put, ill find somethin to make a fire." Anna was oblivious to Daryls mood change and smiled as she got up brushed her self off and pecked his cheek before she started to pull out their sleepingbags and put it into the tent. Daryl stomped off into the woods and walked around, trying to get his thoughts sorted while he picked up dryed branshes and logs for the fire, why had he been so stupid to fall for her, she would end up leaving him, just like everyone els in his life. He continued to curse him self out when he heard quick footsteps behind him and he turned, and saw Anna run almost past him, he dropped the logs in his arms and followd after her, he cought up to her and grabd her arm and she yelped as she turned and was about to hit him "hey hey, easy girl.... whats the matter with ya? i thought i told ya to stay put?" Anna was shaking, but when she realised it was Daryl holding her arm she threw her self into his arms " you have been gone for over an houer, i heard a noise, i got scared" Daryl pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head "shhhh, princess, im here" She pressed her head against his chest "I dont think i like camping" she sniffled and made Daryl laugh. "come on princess, lets build a fire and get some food" They made their way over to their tent, and he squatted down and started teaching her how to build a fire, after he grabed his bow and pulled her up on her feet "now im gonna teach you have to make small traps to catch rabbits". After about two houers and Daryl was impressed of how quick she took what he taught her, they had built a couple of traps, he had showed her different prints on the forrest floor and told her what kind of animals would leave the different prints. Anna was eager to learn and could not hide how proud she was when she guessed correctly at his next question, it was starting to get dark and her stomach started growling, she giggled "i think thats our que to head back" Daryl pulled her in for a kiss and nodded.   
After they had eaten they sat infront of the fire and drank a beer that Daryl had pulled out of his backpack, not used to drinking she was starting to feel the effect of the alcohol and she broke the silence with a giggle "Are you trying to get me drunk mr.Dixon? " she asked and stradled his lap, he just smirked up at her " well i wouldnt mind a repeat of ya prom night princess" Anna rolled her eyes and leaned down and gave him a kiss "you dont have to get me drunk to get into my pants, ive been wanting you for weeks and this time we wount be interupted" he smiled into the kiss and mumbled "i like how ya think princess" they both got up and put out the fire and walked into the tent and started making out, their cloths disaperad quickly, they both where breathing heavly. Daryl hands whent all over her body and his mouth followed suit, He could not get enough of her, he pushed her back on the small cot and his mouth found her already hardn nipple, he sucked it into his mouth and heard her gasp and moun, his hand rubbed down her side and over her hip and onto her tigh, he squeesed her tigh gently and this made her arch up and grind up against him, he couldnt help the moan escaping his own lips as his hand trailed up her inner tigh and onto her already damp panties, he placed his hand over her core and squeesed lightly "mmmm already so wet for me" he growled as he pulled the other nipple into his mouth and sucked on it, he pushed his hand under her panties and traced her wet slit with his finger, his thumb finding her clit and rubbed it around in slow circles. Her moans grew louder and she pulled her hands through his hair and pulled him up to kiss him, hungry for his mouth, he slid his finger inside of her and closed his eyes as she sucked his bottom lip inside her mouth and teasingly bit down on it. He pulled back and pulled her panties off, she sat up and started tugging on his belt, her fingers shaking a bit, making him push her hands gently away and unbuckle his belt and pants, he pulled them off and kicked them into the corner of the tent, it only took him a secound before he was hovering over her, nipping on her neck "are ya sure ya want to princess? i mean we can wait" Anna moaned and grabed his sholders tightly and pulled him closer "no i dont wanna wait, i want you Daryl, i need you now". He pulled her tighes further apart and lined him self up against her, he was a bit shakey himself as he placed the tip of his hard cock against her warm wet entrance, he pushed himself inside, she was so tight and warm, he swallowd hard as he pushed him self further inside, he stopped and looked down at her, he pulled him self out and then back in, the whole way, he heard her gasp and opened his own eyes and looked down at her, her eyes was tightly squeezed shut, he placed himself down on his elbows and rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs, he kissed her gently "im sorry, ya wanna stop?" It was almost killing him to keep still, it felt so good being inside of her, but he forced himself to let her adjust and get used to him. "No i think its starting to be ok now" she whispered, but she was still clutching hard onto his sholders, he pulled himself slowly out and then back in, and he felt her relax a bit, this encouraged him to continue, he kissed her deep he felt her hand slep into his hair and tug lightly on it, the moaned, she started bucking her hips and meeting his thrusts, this got alittle to much for him and it didnt take long before a shiver rand down his body and he thrusted one last time into her and spilled himself inside of her, he pulled out and rolled over on his back and pulled the back of his hand over his eyes... He had fucked up.... he had ruined everything, he was so embarrased that he didnt last long enough to make her feel as good as she made him feel. If only he could sink into a whole right now. "im sorry i screwed up" he mumbled, she turned over to her side facing him, her body felt alittle sore, but not to bad, her fingers traced over his sholder, she was confused as to why he was apolegizing, wasnt it she who should be apolegizing, she did not have any experiance and he had tons. She was probably to boring and that was why he finished so quickly. She grabed her panties and pulled them on and pulled on her tshirt "you didnt" she took a deep breath "im sorry i sucked so bad" she whispered as she laid back on her cot with her back against him, he would probably dump her ass now, that was for sure, a tear rolled down her cheek. This camping trip was a disaster. She heard Daryl shuffle on his cot and she could hear him getting dressed, his movements stoped "oh crap..... are ya on the pill?" he said, she could hear panick in his voice, she sniffled "yeah i have been on the pill for over a year, dont worry about it". Daryl turned and looked at her, it sounded like she was crying, why the hell where she crying now, did she already regret it, was he that bad. He laid back down facing her back, he wasnt sure of what to do now. He pulled his arm around her and pulled her body closer to his "w- whats wrong" he studdered, she sniffled again and then she whiped away her tears in an annoyed movement "im sorry i wasnt what you are used too.... you dont have to cuddle me, i know its over" she felt him tence up "a- are ya dumping me now? i know i sucked, but i can probably do better next time", gee he thought to himself, he had turned into a studdering idiot now. Anna laughed a short sarcastic laughter " no but you are probably thinking about dumping me, i mean you are probably used to more experianced girls then me" wait what he thought, and grabed her sholder and turned her over at her back, she refused to meet his gaze, but he grabed her chin and forced her to look at him "what ya blabbering about? ya didnt suck, ya where great, fucking amazing, i donˋwanna dump ya" he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her still plump lips "and why ya talkin about other girls? " Anna blushed deeply and shruged, she pulled away from his grip and started figeting with her hands "you know.... girls you have been with, you have been with half the girls at school from what ive heard" Daryl laid back down on his back and stared into the air "pfft.... ya should know better then to listen to shit at school, ya my girl, my only girl" he said, sounding alittle offended from her statement, she turned towards him , a slight shock written all over her face "your telling me that this was your first time too?" Daryls face turned red "why ya think i only lasted like two secounds?" his voice had become more harsh now and she giggled in relief and placed her head on his chest and started tracing the print on his tshirt " im kinda glad, to be honest, it dosent matter if we both sucked, we can do better next time" the embarracement and anger left his body as he exhaled, he kissed her on the top of the head and yawned as he pulled the sleeping bag over their bodys "we have all the time in the world to get it right, princess, now get some sleep." he whispered against her hair, he could already feel her drifting off to sleep,


	5. What does not break you, only make you stronger.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna have been accepted into her first choice collage, how will Daryl take her leaving, is a long distance relationship something he is willing to go for. Is Annas perfect bubble about to burst?

The following weeks after Annas and Daryls first camping trip out in the woods, they took every chanse they got to be together, they snuk out in the barn if her parants where at home, if not they stayd in bed until they heard her parants pull up into the driveway and they threw their clothes on in a hurry and pretended to play cards or watch a movie, Anna loved being with Daryl, he was so gentle and understanding, he was also very eager to continue to teach her to track and hunt and to survive out in the woods. They used alot of time out in the woods surrounding her house, Anna had actually started to enjoy being out in the fresh air and she braged to her parants how she had manage to kill her first rabbit and how she had managed to track a deer. Her father and mother was very pleased, and her father had braged about Daryls patience with his daughter out in the woods, Daryl had blushed deeply under her fathers praise, and Anna found it adorable, Daryl was at her house every day now, and she loved every minute of it.   
Even Leo and Mary had warmed up to Daryl now and they where all hanging out like they where old friends. Daryl had actually been hanging out with Leo the few times the girls had gone out to shop or just have a girl chat in the diner. The only thing that was hanging over Anna and Daryls happynes was the fact that Anna had gotten into the collage in another city, and she was going to leave in only a couple of weeks. Both Anna and Daryl had avoided the topic as the plague, but they both could feel that they soon needed to talk about it, since the shadow of sadness cept creeping in on them and taking over their bliss.  
Daryl watched as Anna walked over the lawn and over to the barn where he was finishing up for the day, he could see she had a smile on her face, but it didnt quite reach her eyes like it usually did "hey" he said and reached his hand out and placed it on her hip and pulled her in for a quick kiss "ya ready to go out camping?" he said with a smirk knowing what their camping usually led to, he watched her closer as she pulled out from his grip and started figeting with her hands "Daryl, we uhhhm, we need to talk" He pulled back alittle and leaned his back into the barndoors, he started nervously chewing on his thumb "aˋright" he knew what she was going to talk about, it had been lingering in the back of his head since she first brought it up at their first camping trip, but like he always did he refused to think about it, hoping that the problem would just disapear on its own. "you know i will be leaving in a few weeks, tomorrow my mom is taking me shopping for what i need, but we havent discussed what this means for us, we need to do that now." He just stood there shuffeling his feet like an idiot, not knowing what to say, it felt like his heart where being ripped out of his body, she was going to dump him, she had only used him and played with him this summer, and now she was ready to move on to bigger and better things. He took a deep breath and cursed himself out from being so stupid to think that she would be happy and settle with him in a small town like this. She was a damn city girl, the a small town in Georgia had nothing to offer her, a simple no good redneck like him had nothing to offer a girl like her. "Daryl?" he heard her say softly and she gently interlocked her hand with his "i will come home every chanse i have, we can still make this work, if you still want too?" he snaped out of his trail of thoughts and looked at her, in stead of choking up and giving into the burning sensation in his eyes he felt the anger boil inside of him "so ya want me to just sit on the fence and wait for yar ass to come home, so ya arent bored the week ya have off, and then ya go back to the wild partys and the fretboys, while i sit here like some lovesick puppy waiting for ya to return.... " he could feel Anna squeezing his hand "no Daryl, it would not be like that, im not interested in any partys or the fret boys, i love you, Daryl." He just scoft and pulled away from her touch, he pulled out a cig and lit it "ya know, i cant really see how i fit into that whole picture with yar fancy education, fancy job" he turned his back at her and she snaked her arms around his waist "Daryl, i only want a desent education, im not going for a fancy job, i want a life with you, here in Georgia. Besides arent you going to the local collage yourself?" They had never discussed his plans for his life, he never really shared to much from his own thoughts, he was fine just listening to her. "hah" he scofted " i barly made it threw the last year of highschool, i aint smart like ya fancy ass" he was now up in her face, pointing to his temple, all read in the face, his usually skyblue eyes darkend by anger. "go to ya fancy collage, hook up with some fretboy, i dont fucking care" once again she tried to reach her arms and touch him, but he pulled away, he could see her tearing up, but he knew if he even so much as touched her now he would break down to a sobby puddle at her feet, begging her not to leave him, his fathers and Merles voice rang through his head "a Dixon never begs for shit!" He had to get out of there, he needed to get away from her, it was tearing him apart to say those words to her, it was ripping his heart out to see her crying like this "Daryl, i love you, i only want you" she continued to pleed, once again reaching for his hand "whatever" he said and stomped over to his bike who he kickstarted and he took off, he could not bring himself to look at her, he was never gonna feel like this for anyone els, she was his girl, she would always be his girl. As he arrived and parked his bike he could see that his dad was back in town, he carefully made it inside the house without making any sound, he cought a glimps of his fathers passed out figure in an old beat up chair out in the livingroom, and he exhaled in relief, he did not need another confrontation with his drunken dad right now, instead he whent into his bedroom and threw himself on the bed, he pulled out his phone and looked at it, deep down he was hoping that Anna maybe had texted him, but he knew he had really screwed up this time, he had managed to push her away, probably to the extend it was no going back. For the first time since he was a kid he let go of his harsh self controll and sobbed like alittle baby until he passed out.  
The next day he woke up by someone pulling his limp body out of bed "theres my lazy no good of a son! where ya been hidin out boy, huh?" he blinked and stared up into his raging fathers face, he knew he should never have stayed knowing his dad was at home, he should have camped out in the woods until his dad disaperad again. The first punch landed straight into his jaw and his head was jolted back, the secound landed on his cheekbone and nose, and the exploding pain shook him to the core, he felt the blood tripeling down his mouth and jaw from his nose, his dad droped him like a pile of dirt on the floor "do i need to get ma belt boy for ya to find ya pussy ass voice?" his dad growled and started unbuckeling his belt "i- ive been at the hansenˋs workin" he cursed him self for letting the information slip, he knew his dad hated him working for the Hansen family, he knew he was in for a real beating this time, he huddled up on the floor, pulling his hands abow his head to protect himself, the first hit from the belt buckle still came as a surprise, the pain hit him like lightning boltz and he whimpered "crawlin out of ya fanzy whole are ya? thought i told ya to keep yar ass away from that fancy place! after all these years, still havent learned ya lesson, huh?" Daryl could feel how the belt buckle tore up his skin on the back and his side, he continued to whimper out how sorry he was as he layed there, praying for his dad to loose interest in beating him and go get drunk at a bar instead. He heard the door to his room slam open and he could hear Merle growling "what the hell, i leave you alone for a couple of houers and ya start beatin his ass, why dont ya pick someone on your own size for a change, instead of terrorising lil boys!" Daryl watched through tear filled eyes that his big brother punched their dad over and over in the face until he was leying in a bloody puddle on the floor, the man was not moving. "Fuck" Merle cursed "i think i fucking killed the bastard" Daryl whiped his cheeks and looked at their father laying unrecognizable on the floor, blood seeping out of his open wounds in his face. "grab ya shit babybrother, wer gettin out of here before the police comes on knocking" Daryl looked at his brother dumbfonded "w-what?" he stammered. "ya def or just plain stupid, get ya shit Daryl! wer leavin!" He scrambled to his feet, alittle unsteady at first, but he managed to get his bagpac and push some jeans, and clean tshirts into it, he grabed the checks he had gotten from mr. Hansen for the work he had done and a picture of Anna, he shoved it all into his backpac and grabed his bow and arrows. Merle had packed up the scraps of food and beer that was left in the house, some camping gear and some clothes and threw it in the back of his old beat up blue truck, he tossed Daryl the keys to the truck "take the truck, ill take the bike, we can load up the bike down at the garage" Daryl just nodded and was about to turn as Merle stepped up to him and handed him a wet red rag " im sorry baby brother, i shoulda known.... clean ya self up before people see ya" Daryl climbed into the truck and hizzed from the pain as his back came in contact with the carseat, he looked himself in the mirror and started to whipe away the dryed blood in his face. His nose was broken, his lip busted and he had a cut across his cheekbone and a hugh shiner on his right eye. He was not a pretty sight. He scofted at his own thoughts, who cares anyway, not like anyone where gonna have to look at his sorry ass. He started the truck and rolled down the dirt road after his brother. 

 

Anna had cryed her self to sleep the night she had talked with Daryl, his harsh words replayd in her mind over and over, she could not understand why he suddenly had turned so cold, was he just toying with her and pretend to be into her just to get laid, it didnt feel like he was playing with her when they kissed or when he held her in his arms, oh god how she missed to be in his arms, she was hoping she would be awaken by the sound of him hammering away on the barn roof, but as she had got up and looked out the window she could not see him. It was dead silent, she got dressed and looked her self in the mirror, her eyes where red and puffy and her cheeks where stained from teers. She sniffled and walked into the kitchen, her mother sat at the kitchen table drinking her morning coffe, looking up and her smile froze on her lips when she saw the state her daughter was in "whats wrong sweety?" Annas eyes teered up again and she ran into her mothers arms "I think me and Daryl is over" she chocked on the last word as her body shook from crying. " awwww, sweety, its probably a missunderstanding, give him a call and ask if he can come over so you two can talk, i know that boy loves you." Anna shook her head "no mom, i texted him all night, and this morning, but no answer" her mother stroke over her hair and kissed her temple " just give him time sweety, he will come around" Anna sniffled and pulled out from her mothers loving embrace "thats the thing mom, im out of time, im leaving in only a few weeks" her mother whiped her cheeks and gave her a comforting smile " but its not for good, he will come around, just wait and see, they all think they can do without, but when they realize that they need you to breath and live, they come back running, it was like that for your dad and me too sweety." her mother pushed her gently down on a chair and walked over to the counter and grabed a plate with some eggs and bacon and placed it infront of Anna "now sweety, eat your breakfast, and ill call your dad and tell him we are ready to go shopping. We can eat out at the diner to night" Anna just nodded and pushed the food around her plate, not feeling very hungry.   
The day whent by so fast, they had been running all over the mall, buying everything from books, to clothes to furniture that was going to be shipped to her apartment in the city, after running around all day on an empty stomach she had more or less inhaled the burger at the diner, she felt exhausted, the sound of the car rawring down the road made her sleepy, and she drifted off to sleep in the back seat. She was jolted awake by a shrilling scream and everything turned into slow motion, bags and small items flew around in the car as it suddenly came to a adrupt hault and was slung off the road and flipped over and over until it was laying on the roof in the ditch, Anna had been slung into the passanger door and hit her head against the window, everything whent black, she woke up to a bright light stuck up into her face and muffled voices around her, she tried to turn her head but the pain ripped through her body and she cryed out "the girl is alive, shes responding, gotta cut her out though" Anna fumbled around the seatbelt with her shakey hands "miss, can you hear me? sit tight, we are gonna get you out and get you to a hospital" Anna tried to focus on the voice but her head was pounding so hard she could hardly consentrate before she blacked out again.

Leo and Mary sat nex to Annas bed, holding her head, she had not waken up yet, it had only been twentyfour houers since the accident. "Do you think she will remember what happend when she wakes up?" Mary choked and leaned in on Leoˋs sholder, Leo shruged "i donˋt know, luckely she dont have life threatening inguries" he replyed. He grabed his phone again "iˋm gonna try and call Daryl again, he should be here when she wakes up, shes gonna need him for this" Mary whiped her tears and nodded and switched seats with Leo and grabed Annas hand. Leo whent out in the hall and diled Daryls number for the 10th time since they had heard about the accident, as soon as they heard about it on the local news, both him and Mary had rushed to the hospital, after alot of convincing the hosptital staff had let them into Annas room. "The person you are calling can not be reached" Leo cursed and walked back into Annas room, he met Marys curious eyes "it whent straight to voice mail.... again" Mary sighed "where is he? maybe you should go to his house, see if he is there, maybe there is something wrong with his phone" Leo nodded, walked over and gave his girlfriend a quick kiss. "Stay here with her, and ill go look" Mary gave him a faint smile and squeezed his hand before she turned back to Annas pale body.  
Leo parked his car infront of Daryls house, the driveway was empty, he could not see either the bike or the old blue truck that usually was parked there. He walked up to the front door and knocked, no one answered, he tried knocking again but same results, he pushed lightly on the door, and it swung open, that is weird he thought, if they arent at home one should think they would lock the door, but then again, from the sight of the lawn and the old house, he doubted anyone would try to break in, there where probably nothing worth stealing from the inside anyways. He walked through the kitchen and into the empty livingroom, empty beerbottle was scattered all over the floor and table. "hello?" he called out, no one answered. He had been to Daryls house once with Daryl, so he made his way over to what was Daryls bedroom, he pushed the door open, it creeked on the hanges.The room was in a poor state, clothes where scattered, he could see that something had been going on there, a bloody belt was laying on the floor, next to a bloody pulp. Fucking hell he thought, what had happened here?!?. He stepped over the now dryed up blood on the floor, he saw Daryls phone laying on his bedstand, He pushed a button but it remained dark, no wonder no one answered, it was carged out, he put it back on the night stand, and walked over to a desk at the other side of the room, grabbing a old reciept for some car parts, he turned it over and grabed a pen, he pushed some empty soda cans out of the way and wrote down a note for Daryl to see, if he came home "There have been an accident, Anna is in the hospital, she needs you, call me, Leo" He plced the note on Daryls pillow, he is probably out hunting or tracking or god knows what he did running around in the woods all the time.  
Leo was back at the hospital about an houer later and walked into Annas hospitalroom, Mary looked up at him with a smile, she gave him a kiss as he sat down next to the bed "Any changes?" he asked and pulled his hand through his long brown tresses, "she wagely squeezed my hand earlier, the dr say that we should give it another twentyfour houers and she will probably wake up. Did you find Daryl?" She already knew the answer since Daryl was not there. Leo shook his head. "i whent to his house, no cars and no bikes. The door was open though, so i wrote him a note, found his phone, so that explains why hes not answering. I found something els too" he paused and Mary looked at him curiously "there where alot of blood on Daryls floor" Mary blinked "blood?" her voice was full of worry "maybe something have happend to him?" Leo shruged "i dont know, maybe we should call it in to the police station?" Mary nodded and looked back at Annas pale face. "She is going to be devestated when she wakes up." Leo nodded "Yeah, shes gonna need all the support in the world, maybe a slight memory loss wouldnt be so bad afterall" Mary looked back at him with a "how can you say such a thing" kind of look. Leo shruged "come on babe, ill drive you home. We will be back first thing tomorrow. The nurse promised to call me if there where any changes" Mary sighed and got up from the chair, she looked back at Anna "we will be back soon, Anna. You are not alone" Mary said in a soft voice.

It had been two days since Daryl and Merle had left their house and their dead dad, they had kept a low profile incase they where wanted for killing their own father. Daryl was sitting in his truck outside what looked like a skanky bar, Merle was inside getting wasted. Something never seemed to change. What was Anna doing now? Was she out with her friends, he regreted what heˋd done, all he wanted was to go back to his hometown and beg for her forgiveness, but he knew he couldˋnt do that, if only he had remembered his phone, then atleast he could have texted Leo or Mary to ask how she was doing. He rubbed his hands over his face, he was tired, he had hardly slept the last two days. So this was his life from now on, waiting on Merle to get drunk enough and then go to the shabby motel and sleep in a dirty beds. His eyes glanzed over the door to the bar and saw Merle stumbeling out with a girl under each arm, they where laughing of some stupid joke Merle made. They stumbled over to the car and Merle opened the passanger door "heeeeeeey babybrother, i brought us some company tonight...... " Daryl just rolled his eyes and started the engine of the truck, Merle turned back to the girls and slaped one of them hard on her ass "Get in sugartits", both girls hoped in and Merle followd suit, the truck was too crowdy for Daryls liking, one of the girls smiled up at him, her eyes glazed over from whiskey, she was hardly wearing any clothes, her bra was actually sticking up over her top, and she had too much make up on. Daryl sighed and pulled out of the parkinglot and out on the highway. Back at the motel he walked into his own room and slumped down on the dirty squeeky bed, he turned on the tv, but the signals was too bad to even watch it without getting a headache. He pulled his arm over his eyes and tried to get some sleep, when a knock came to his door "This better not be ya, Merle, asking for condoms" he growled as he opened the door and stared right at one of the skanky whores Merle had brought to the Motel, a slight blush crept up Daryls throat and cheeks, but his annoyance was still there "what ya want? " the skank gave him what she thought was a seductive smile and ran her finger playfully down his chest, her touch only made his stomach turn and all he wanted to do was shut the door in her face "wanna have some fun handsome?" Daryl almost threw up in his mouth, watching this little whore trying to make a move on him made him miss Anna even more then he thought was possible. The girl snaked her self into him and he could smell the nasty smell of her cheap perfum. "nah, not interested, go play with Merle" The girl put her bottom lip out in a pout "Awwww i can garantee you a good time sugar!" Daryl pushed her back "are ya retarded or something? i said i wasnt interested, get tha fuck out of ma room" she slapped him across the cheek, he rubbed his cheek and slammed the door in her face. He slumped back on his bed and heard how the skank was standing outside Merles room whine and complain about how he had treated her. Daryl pulled the pillow over his head to try to shut out the annoying voice.

Anna opened her eyes, she had been hearing muffeling voices and could not understand why someone would be talking over her in her bedroom while she was sleeping. Bright light made her squint her eyes, when she tried to focus, she did not recognize any of the furniture or the people standing by her bed, this wasnt her room she tought. She tried to speak but her mouth felt like the dessert, she could only press a small grunt over her stiff lips "ah, you are awake, thats good. Hold on honey, i will get you some water" someone said to her, it was one of the voices she had heard earlier, she opened her eyes wider as a straw was pushed inbetween her lips and she automatically took a few sips. "where am i" she managed to ask. The person placed the glass of water back on the bedside table and turned towards her with a kind smile "you are at the hospital honey, the dr will be right in, i have allready called for him, he will explain everything, i will call your friends while you talk with him" Anna closed her eyes and rubbed her hands over her face, what was happening?. "Good morning miss Hansen" A man said when he entered the door to her room " I am dr. Chuu. How are you feeling?" Anna looked up at him "like i have been run down by a truck" The dr and the nurse looked at eachother and then back at Anna. "yes, well what do you remember?" the dr said, Anna closed her eyes, and flashes of memories flod threw her head, how tired she had bee, how she was jolted awake by her mother scream, the force of impact from the crash and how the car rolled over, she opened her eyes and her eyes was tearing up "i remember the crash" the dr nodded "yes, you and your family was in an accident, you have been in a coma for about two days". Anna whiped her eyes "wheres my mom and dad?" The nurse grabed her hand and squeezed it comforting " The dr cleard his throat "i am sorry to say miss Hansen, but your mother and father did not make it, they where dead before the ambulance got there" A painfull whimper escaped her mouth. She was all alone now, and she couldnt even say good bye to her parants who she loved so much. "we will give you some time now to digest this information, we will come back later and run a few tests" tears kept streaming down her face and she couldnt speak, so she just nodded. When she heard the door click behind them, she turned her face and cryed hard into the pillow.  
Mary and Leo walked into the hospital doors, Leo looked down at Mary figeting with her purse as they walked into the elevator up to Annas floor "Dont worry babe, shes awake and she have her membery intact." Mary nodded "Yes, but how are we suppose to help her through this? And how are we going to explain that Daryl isnt with us" Leo shruged, well atleast the police was going to check out his house. They knocked on Annas door and walked in, Anna sat in her bed and stared into the air while tears ran down her face. Mary rushed over to Annas bedside and threw her arms around her and huged her, Anna looked up at them as they sat down next to her bed "They are dead. They are both gone, i will never see them again" she whispered, Mary grabed her hand "i know Anna, we are so so sorry" Anna kept just staring blankly at them "he is gone too. im all alone now." Leo looked at anna curiously "You mean Daryl? Do you know where he is at?" Anna met his stare, but it was like she looked straight through him. "He broke up with me the night before the accident" Mary gasped and Leo cursed under his breath "That explains why he have just vanished into thin air" he mumbled. Mary gave Anna a weak smile " well atleast you have us, we are here for you, you are not alone" Anna met Marys stare and sniffled "thank you" she whispered greatfull.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, thank you so much for reading my story, i really hope you enjoy reading as much as i enjoy writing it. I have alot of ideas and plot stocked up for the next chapters. Send me a text and let me know what you think so far. :)


	6. Life goes on.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna coping with her new reality being on her own, her friends Leo and Mary kept their word and stood by her through her grief and helped her stake out a new path in her life.

A few months had passed, Mary had gone off to collage to study medecin, her life long dream was to become a dr. Anna had been too busy with physiotherapy, arranging her parants funeral and the sale of her mothers interiour shop to go to collage, she had written the collage and told them she could not take the spot afterall. She had thought it would break her heart all over to not be able to go there, but in some weird way it felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off of her sholders. She had also compleated thrauma treatemnt, she missed her parants deeply, but like her therapist had told her, she needed to accept that they where gone and honer their memory with continue to live her life. She could not give up and let the depression drown her. It was not as hard during the day, it was the evenings and nights that was the worst, she still had nightmares from the accident. Since Mary had gone off to collage, and Leos parants was going through a bitter divorce, and Anna felt lonly in the big empty house they had desided that Leo was gonna move in and become her roommate. Her parants had left her everything, so she was well set for the rest of her life, so she did not really need Leo to help out with the bills, she just needed the company, to hear sounds in the house. They had became close, Leo was almost like a brother to her now.  
Anna draged her self out of bed, yet another restless and sleepless night, she threw on a tshirt and some worn out sweatpants and walked down to the kitchen, Leo was sat at the kitchen table drinking his morning coffe "morning sunshine" he said with his usual grumpy voice. He was always grumpy in the morning. Anna rolled her eyes "your the sunshine here, you should start to warn me before i come downstairs to bring my sunglasses, your bright smile is blinding me" Leo grunted. "Theres more coffe on the counter" he just answered. Anna pulled out her mothers favorite cup and filled it with the dark rich drink and walked over to the kitchen table where Leo was reading some folders. "What you doing?" She asked curiously as she sat down, she grabed one folder and started to read " Are you serious? are you joining the army?" she asked alittle surprised. Leo met her surprised look "yeah, collage isnt quite my thing, and i gotta do somethin usefull with my life right? " She looked back down on the folder "i just didnt think you where the kind of guy that would blindly follow others orders" she mumbled as she threw the folder over the table towards him, she took a sip of her coffe and watched him " yeah im really not, but i was thinking that i might as well try, my other options arent all that great either." Anna pulled her hair back and tied it up into a messy bun before she wrapped her cold fingers around her coffe mug again " well if you go, then ill go too." Leo snaped his head up and looked at her with a frown "you? join the army? Anna met his frown with her own "what? me joining the army is not any weirder then you joining." Leo scofted, she leaned over the table "just think about it Leo, there is not much for either of us to do here, we are a great team, think how awsome it will be when we kick peoples asses. Im thinking we will be legendary!!!" Leo rolled his eyes "yeah legendary." Anna kicked Leos foot under the table "stop being so grumpy, we will be awsome. You should think i would be the grumpy one since i literarly lost everything in my life, you still have a girlfriend who adores you, your parants are alive and can annoy the shit out of you" she sighed and rested her head on her arms, looking up on Leo, who softened up alittle "your right, i shouldnt be complaining, but if you had not noticed, you arent all smiles and cheers, whenever you talk with me or Mary you are like your old self, but whenever so much as a person you dont know looks at you, you are ready to bite their head off." Anna blew him off " ive found out that i dont really like people all that much, and it only brings more flare to my personality, it makes me more interesting. " she snickered and Leo shook his head " yeah that makes alot of sence, you are not a people person, but still like to be mysterious and interesting to others.... Are you sure you didnt bump your head beond repair in that crash?" Anna just laughed.

Daryl opened his eyes, his slurry vision scanned the room, people where scattered all over the floor, he didnt recognize any of them, empty beer bottles and whiskey bottles littered the table infront of him, his head was pounding and his mouth felt dry, yet a hangover he thought, he pushed away some redhead that was sleeping on his lap, he grabed the first pack of cig he saw and lit one up, he took a deep pull and felt his stomach turn, a half empty bottle of jack was left infront of him, he took a swig at it, he felt the strong liquid burn its way down his throat and down into his stomach. Where was Merle... he pulled his free hand through his greecy hair, he could not remember when he last had a shower and changed his clothes and frankly he did not really care all that much. He looked down his shirt, it was only half buttoned up, he got up to his feet and alittle uneasy made his way out to the kitchen. Where the fuck was the bathroom in this dump, he wondered, fuck it, can just take a piss in the sink, he pulled at the zipper in his cargos and did what he needed. He zipped his pants back up and took another swig of the bottle of jack. "Merle!!!" no one answered. "Merle?!?" he shouted even louder, a person told him to shut up, " whatever" he growled, this was so typhical Merle, drag him out to a party at his lowlife friends and then ditch him. Man, did he need to quit this shit and find something to do, his money was nearly gone from buying booze and drugs and paying for the shabby motel rooms, this was the third town they had crashed, it was always the same. His trail of thoughts was disrupted by a loud bang and lots of cursing, he recognized Merles voice shouting, he made his way out of the kitchen and down the hall and opened the door to a smelly torn up bedroom, Merle was laying in bed with his hands abow his head with angry looking twiker standing infront of the bed pointing a gun at him, he could see a some black curls sticking up from under the cover, and he could hear whimpering. "i go out to score ya a fix and you repay me with screwing my girlfriend! What the fuck!" Daryl sighed as he watched the scene unfolding infront of him, this was so typhical Merle, couldnt keep his pants up if his life depended on it. Daryl silently snuk up on the twiker and swung the half empty bottle of jack into the mans head, another shot was fired as he blacked out and fell to the floor. " Get ya ass up, wer leaving!" he said as he turned and walked out of the room, he could hear Merles laughter " awwwww didnt see that commin din ya" he mocked the unconsious man on the floor as he pulled on his clothes. Daryl stood outside the apartment building waiting for Merle, he lit another cig as he leaned against the cold brick building. The door swung open and Merle half joged down the stairs towards him "thanks babybrother, i owe ya one" Daryl just glared over at his brother and scofted. Merle was about to say somethin but was interupted by the sirens from a policecar pulling up into the parkinglot outside the building. "Fuck" he grunted and they both started running. Daryl was slender built even if his body had gotten more toned over the past two years, and all the time he had been running around in the woods hunting and tracking, made him quick on his feet. He looked back and saw one police officer tackle Merle to the ground and cuff him, the other police officer was still on his tail. He rounded a corner and came into a street with houses on both sides, he jumped a couple of fences and ended up in a backyard, he squated down behind a shed and waited, his heart was racing, he could hear the loud thumping from his pulse in his ears, and he was phanting, he shut his eyes and leaned his head back into the shed, he whiped the sweat off of his forhead. This was not the first time he was running from the police the last month, was the first time the cops had cought one of them though. After waiting for half an houer he jumped another fence and got into a parallel street, he started to walk aimlesly around, what now..... his phone vibrated in his pocket "Merle?" he said "heeey babybrother, looks like i have to do some time, they found some stash on me, ill call ya when i get out" Merles voice was as sarcastic as always in a cheerfull way and Daryl just rolled his eyes, he knew this was bound to happen some day. What the fuck was he going to do now. He walked back to the motel, as he entered he grabed a six pack of beer and threw himself on the bed. He looked at his phone. He dialed the same number over and over, but erased the number before he could hit the call button, as he had finished his last beer the room had started to spin, he dialed the number and pushed the call button, it was ringing.... he waited.... "hello?" he heard a voice say, he shut his eyes and felt a burning sensation "hello??? someone there??? " he inhaled sharply before he hung up. He burried his head down into the pillow and dropped the phone on the floor.

 

Leo looked at Anna curiously as she hung up the phone and placed the phone back in her pocket, they where standing in line to sign up to bootcamp. "Same creep that have been calling you lately?" Leo asked, although he knew the answer "yeah" Anna answered, her voice flat as she stared into the air infront of them. "have you tryed to rediale the number? or look it up?" Anna nodded "no one answers when i try to call back up, and i cant get any hits when i try to look it up." she shruged " must be someone who dials the wrong number" Leo wasnt convinced " he only breathes into the phone? " he asked and anna just nodded "yeah its a perv" he stated. "you should save the number, and next time the perv calls im gonna answer, pretend to be your boyfriend and tell him to leave you alone or ill raport his ass to the police" Anna smirked "my knight in shining armor, huh?" Leo just rolled his eyes and playfully shoved her sholder. They took another step forward. "by the way" Anna said " how was Mary doing at school?, sucked that i missed her call, she hardly have time to speak anymore." Leo grinned "yeah well since you fell asleep i got some quality time with my girlfriend, needed that!" Anna giggled and punshed his sholder "ewww, i dont wanna hear about your dirty buisness, how the hell am i gonna get rid of that nasty image, huh?" Leo snickered and bumped back into her side "have to keep my girl satesfied!" he said with laugheter in his voice. "oh that reminds me, how are things going with the the new dude that started working at the diner, the one who asked you out?" Annas smile died on her lips and a frown replaced her playfull expression "i told him i wasnt interested" Leos brown eyes softened and he grabed her sholder and squeezed it gently "dont you think its time you forget Daryl and move on? its been almost six months now, no one have seen either him or his brother" Anna put her hand up to stop what he had heard several times before "Dont.... I dont wanna hear his name, you know that..... i just not interested in dating and all that romance shit, im fine on my own. Besides, after bootcamp wer gonna go overseas, whats the point in getting involved with someone when im about to leave soon anyway?" Leo had heard it all before, he whereˋnt convinced that Anna was over Daryl, and not secretly waiting for his return. He had heard her calling out his name in her sleep, he desided not to push it, they where afterall out in public and Anna had gotten alittle hotheaded after the accident. They took another step and now it was time for the two of them to sign in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got kind of short, and the next chapter im going to skip a few years ahead. Im just so eager about their future. Im sorry if this is not to someones liking.


	7. Survival mode

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 9 years have passed, Anna and Leo are overseas fighting in a war, Mary have become a dr and are now working in the local hospital in their home town, and Daryl are trying to get his life back on track when suddenly their whole excistanse are turned upside down and the world as they know it changes. Their worst nightmare are upon them.

It was pitch black, only lights that could be spotted was a few lanterns from camp, Anna and Leo moved silently over the sand as they patrolled the area outside of their camp, Anna pulled on her uniform for the third time in the 30 minutes they had been walking "Im sertainly not gonna miss this heat" she whispered to Leo, they had been overseas for almost two years now, this was the second time they had been serving overseas. Leo had gone home to the states whenever he could to see Mary, but Anna had stayed, she did not feel the urge to go home, but now she had no choise. Beside Leo needed her to come home, he had told her that he had proposed to Mary the last time he was on his leave, and the date for their wedding was comming up, Leo had also asked her to be his bestman, or bestwoman in her case, and she had happily accepted, there where no other people in the world that she loved more then Mary and Leo. Leo was like the brother she never had and Mary was her bestfriend. Offcourse she was gonna attend their wedding, she would not miss it for anything in the world. Leo nodded and gave her a half smile "yeah, its so humid, he said and scratched his neck before he placed his hand back on the gun he was carrying. "only a few days left and then we go back to Georgia, are you excited? nervous maybe?" she bumped him playfully with her elbow as they continued to walk, gazing into the darkness, Leo blushed slightly, he was glad it was dark so Anna could not see, she would give him hell for it. Leo had almost felt like a teen again after he had proposed to Mary, being away from her this long was also making seeing her feel like their first date all over. "yeah can you belive it, only a couple of days left, where did the time go, its almost 9 years since we whent to bootcamp!" he breathed, Anna sighed " do you have to remind me? i feel so old!" Leo smirked "yeah your ass have started to sagg alittle" he said teasingly and was repaid with a punch to the sholder "we are just as old, we work out just as much, im in better shape now then i was when i was 19" she grunted and this made Leo burst out in laughter "shhhhhh" Anna said and grabed his arm "i thought i heard something " she pointed into the dark to the left of them, Leos eyes followd her direction, they stood gazing into the darkness for another minute before the night sky was lit up by a massive explotion, the ground shook under their feet, they both fell to their feet and covered their heads from the falling debrees. They turned their heads to a compone near their camp that was now lit up by a blazing fire. She felt Leo grabbing her arm and she heard him shout " are you alright" she nodded, suddenly bullets was flew by them and they both rushed to their feet and ran for cover, they could hear men shouting out orders in their native tongue, they ducked behind a bush on the other side of the dirt road, Anna was laying flat on her stomach fiering as soon as she saw movement from the direction they had ran from, the fire was answered from the enemies side. " we have to get back to camp" Leo yelled, Anna looked over her sholder to the direction of their camp, there wherent much that could seek cover from, just small bushes scattered throughout the dessert. This was sertainly not good she thought. "we just gotta run, theres nothing els we can do, they are to meny" Leo nodded, they where quickly back on their feet and ran all they could. They stumbled into camp and was quickly surounded by their own, they heard their officers shouting out orders, and people on high alert all around, Leo grabed her arm and she cringed and hizzed "Fucking hell, ive been grazed by a bullet" Anna breathed between gritted teeth, Leo grabed her and turned her so he could get a better look "Anna, thats not a grace of a bullet, that bullet is lodged into your sholder" Anna sunk to the ground, suddenly feeling how tired she was and her legs gave away, she looked up at Leo, his uniform pants was bloody "Leo, your hit too!" He just looked down himself as he too colapsed down to the dusty ground. "Medic!" he shouted and it didnt take long until they where hauled into a tent and their clothes was cut open. Leo looked over at Anna and met her painfilled eyes "im gonna drag my girl down to the courthouse and make her my wife as soon as we hit amarican soil, promise me youll be there and help me through it Anna?!?" Anna looked at him with a stern serious look "i promise, Leo!"

Aaaaaaa, arent you all settled babybrother!" Daryl felt the annoyance creep up his spine, it had been almost a year since his brother took off last time. Every time Merle came back his life would go to hell, he would lose his job, his apartment and they would end up wasted or high and just drifting around like they had been doing the past 9 years. He turned from the engine room on the care he was currantly working on, grabed the rag sticking out of his back pocket and whiped off his hands. "So ya back.... for how long this time Merle?" He couldnt hide the cold bitter tone of his voice, "now now babybrother, arent ya happy to see good ol Merle back?" Daryl walked passed him and squated down infront of a small cooler and took out two beers, he handed Merle one and opened his own and took a long swig "every time ya show ya ugly mug shit hits the fan" Merle also took a long swig and laughed and whiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "nah, not this time, got a sweet deal with some people in Atlanta, will keep us fed and sheltered" Daryl rolled his eyes, he knew all about Merles sweet deals, it was always about drugs and it always ended up with Merle getting hauled back into jail. "i have kept myself fed and sheltered for the past year, and every other time you have disapeared" he grunted, Merles grin froze on his lips, suddenly his good mood was gone " what the hell crawled up ya ass babybrother" Daryl had started chewing his thumb again, a nervous habbit he have had since he was alittle kid. He shruged to Merle. Merle could see his brother tencing up and desided to let it go. "sooo are ya shacking up with someone yet?" Daryl clenshed his fist and chuged down the last of his beer, mentioning a possible girlfriend made old memories of the one person he couldnt forget even how hard he tried to surfise again, he pulled his hand through his now short slightly darker hair and shook his hair "nah...." Merle laughed "good ya learned somethin of use babybrother, girls are only good for one thing.... give them more and theyˋll destroy ya life" Daryl scofted, the only thing that had ever ruined Daryls life was Merle, Merle and himself. He had a good going for him, and he ruined it with his fucking insecurity. "come on babybrother, lets head down to the bar, i need somethin stronger then a beer and need to find a nice piece of ass" Daryl scofted, but followed after Merle out of the garage, he locked up and stuck the keys down into his worn jeans. He already knew how this night would turn out, they where gonna get wasted, Merle would hook up with some skank and drag her back to his one bedroom apartment and make Daryl sleep on the couch as he screwed his brains out. Great he thought, cant wait. The night whent like Daryl had asumed, and he found him self curled up on the tiny twoseater. He could hear the overacted moans comming from his bedroom, he pulled up his phone, no texts, no calls, he wasnt surprised, he hardly had any friends. He thought about the phone number he usually dialed in his drunkenstate, the last time he had dialed was about 4 years ago, a guy had answerd the phone and told Daryl that he was her boyfriend and that if the calling didnt stop he was gonna bring the matter to the police, this had freaked him out alitle, the police could easly find out who was calling, and that would have been embarracing as hell, he wasnt stalking his ex girlfriend, he just needed sometime to hear her voice, to know she was ok. Now he knew she had settled down with a guy. She was probably married and they probably had kids aswell. He placed his arm over his eyes. She deserved the best, he was happy for her, atleast thats what he tried to convince himself of. He looked at the time, fucking hell it was already 3 in the morning, he needed to get some sleep, he had work in the morning.

Three weeks had passed since the attack on their camp, Anna was on her last check up for her sholder at the hospital, she sat infront of the dr while he typed away on the computer infront of her. "Now you can take of your tshirt miss Hansen, so i can see how the wound have been healing?" she lifted the tshirt up and over her head and sat with it in her lap, the dr lifted her arm and rolled the sholder blade "And you have done what we told you? kept the arm still, except from the physiotherapy?" Anna nodded, she knew how important it was to follow dr orders, that was the only way to get her body in order and go back to her job as an soldier. " The wound is healing nicely and theres no pain when you move it?" the dr said. Anna gave him a quick smile, but her smiles never really rached her eyes anymore, " no pain, its only alittle stiff" The dr nodded and gave her the ok to get dressed "Allitle stiffness is expected, you sure was lucky, if the bullet had hit you further down it would have pierced your lung." Anna just nodded, she knew she was lucky, both her and Leo had been very lucky, she liked to think that her parants where watching over them that night, Leo had been hit in the tigh, and the bullet had just missed a major artery, the dr finished up and sent her on her way. Anna walked back into the halls of the hospital and took the elevator up to the floor where Leo was, she rounded the corner and greeted the nurses as she past them, they all knew who she and Mary was, they had been here visiting Leo every day since they came back. She quickly knocked on the door, but didnt wait for Leo to answer before she walked in "hey sunshine" she said when her gray orbs met Leos brown, "how are you feeling?" She whent over to the man sitting on the bed and hugged him "i feel great, they have given me the ok to go home, how was your check up?" Leo gave her a big smile and hugged her back. "The dr was pleased, ive been a good girl, and thanks to Mary and her constant nagging, it will be like i was never hit" Leo grinned, he knew how Mary was and how she had been taking care of Anna. "Did you do what i asked of you?" Leos eyes was beeming, Anna giggled from his goofy look "Yes i did" she handed him a small box and opened it, inside was two rings, the smaller one had alittle heart on it, he slowly let his thumb rubb lightly over them, "now we just have to wait for Mary to come and we will go to the court house, and you will get to marry the hot dr" She smiled towards Leo. The dr who had been treating Leo came in "Now mr. Teller, you are ready to leave, if you just sign these papers and leave them at the nurse desk out in the hall on your way out, it will be all fine. " Leo nodded and grabed the papers, Anna grabed his bag with his personal belongings and followed after Leo out of the room, Leo still had a sligt limp to it, but had refused to use crutches. "Ah i cant wait to get out of here" he said, he placed the papers on the counter at the nurses station and signed the papers, when he was done he heard a squeel and running feet, before he knew it he had his girl in his arm, she showered his face with small kisses while she laughed happily, he wraped his arms around her and kissed her deeply, finally he could do what he had been waiting on for months. He balled his hand up in her long slightly wavy brown tresses. "Alright you two, lets get home so you two can continue the happy reunion" Anna laughed behind him, he pulled back and let Anna hug Mary before they all walked out to the car. "Im driving" Anna said and snapped the keys from Marys fingers, she put Leos bag in the trunk of the car, as they pulled out she took a right instead of a left, but Mary was to happy to stare at her handsom boyfriend to notice. It was not until they stood on the steps of the courthouse that she looked questionly at Leo and Anna "What are we doing here" she said, nerves made her voice alittle shakey. "Its a surprise" Leo whispered and pecked her temple as he wraped one arm around her. They where showed into an office and a judge entered the room. "Are the papers in order " he asked with a very serious voice, Anna pulled out the papers and placed them on the desk infront of the judge, Marys golden orbes flickered between the judge and Anna "isnt that the papers i signed this morning, sharing ownership of the house?" she asked alittle dumbfonded. "pfft" Anna answered with a secretive grin "that was just something i told you, to get you to sign the papers" Mary started figeting and Leo grabed her hands firmly but gently in his big hands. "Now mr. Teller, do you take Mary Wild to be....... " Anna zoned out as she stared at her two best friends, a tear slipped her eye as they both smiled widely, she heard them both say i do, watched them slip the rings onto eachothers finger and kiss. Finally she thought, a happy ending atlast. But her heart ached like it had not done in years. She had blocked out everything from her past and only consentrated on her job as a soldier, now it cam flodding back and it almost ripped her a part. She really needed to go home, and drown her sorrows in a beer.

Merle had stayed with Daryl for alittle over a month now, they had been drinking almost every day, he had called in sick at work almost every monday and thuesday, today he had gone in, his boss had seen he was suffering from a major hangover again, his boss said he could still smell the whiskey from the night before on him, his boss had told him that he had to let him go, yet another job that he was fired from becouse of Merle. Daryl laid back on the couch that had become his bed the last month, no he could not really blame Merle, he could tell his brother to fuck off, but like Merle pointed out to him all the time, he was a pussy. He needed to grow a pair and tell his brother to get lost. He needed to get some sort of a desent life and maybe he could try to contact Anna, or Leo. They had a really good influance on him when he was a teen, maybe thats the kind people he needed in his life. He shut his eyes and tried to get some sleep, suddenly the door busted open and Merle ran in, his eyes was wide and terror was written all over his face. "what the hell Merle?" He grunted, Merle ran into the bedroom and grabed his belongings "Get ya shit babybrother, weˋr leaving this town now.!" Daryl couldnt belive it, he really thought it would take Merle a bit more time to screw up his sweet deal, he probably had people on his ass already. Merle stormed into the livingroom "Did ya hear me? " He stomped over and kicked Daryls feet "Get ya ass in gear! We need to leave!" He was shouting now. Daryl got up from the couch "Im not comming this time Merle, im gonna find another job and i got this place..... write me a fucking postcard when you find a new town" he walked into the kitchen and grabed a beer in the fridge. "Fucking hell Daryl, this isnt like last time, i just saw a old hag attack a man and fucking ripp his fucking throat out, with her fucking teeth!" Daryl just stared at him and blinked a couple of times before he took a long swig of his beer. "Good one Merle, but i think ya better lay of the drugs for a while, ya seeing shit" Merle scoffet and pulled Daryl back into the living room "if ya dont belive me, then watch this, its all over the fucking news!" he flipped through the channals and turned up the volume as pictures of people going crazy in the streets flashed before their eyes. People where running around downtown Atlanta. Daryl could hardly belive his eyes. "Like i said babybrother, grab ya shit, we need to get out of here". Daryl sprung up into action and started throwing clothes into a bag, he grabed what he had of food and water and placed it in his bag, he grabed his bow and only ten minutes later they where in his blue beat up truck speeding out of the parking lot. He kept staring out of the window as they passed three people hunched over a man laying on the street ripping him apart, it was blood everywhere. Merle turned a left and suddenly they where speeding down the highway, It was getting dark and they had to slow down as the highway infront of them was packed with cars, they came to a halt and they sat there waiting, Daryl looked at his phone, it had been thirty minutes. "wonder whats the hold up" Merle grunted, and they both steped out of the car when they saw people around them did the same. A woman and a man came up to them, they had alittle boy with them "hey" the woman said, " do you guys know why everything stoped?" Daryl just shook his head, he jumped up at the hood on his car to get a better View. He could hear the kid whine about how hungry he was, the woman had turned to another woman in a car infront of his, she too had a kid in her car, she was going through her stuff to try to find something to eat for the little boy, but her husband stoped her with a stern look and gestured for her to get back into the car. Daryl grunted, his fists was balled up and his knuckles was starting to get white, he knew guys like him, they beat the shit out of their wifes and kids to feel better about their sorry lifes. Suddenly a whisteling sound ripped through the night sky and lit up the city, gasps could be heard from all over as they watched Atlanta get bombed to pieces. "ooo hell no" he heard Merle say "get in the car babybrother, gotta get out of here" Daryl jumped off of the hood and jumped into the truck, they turned and sped over to the other saide of the road, it was empty since it was leading out of the city. Daryl turned his head and saw a couple of cars following their example. "Only place to be safe now is up at the quarry, its far enough from the city, not meny people around" Daryl just nodded. Was it one thing they knew, it was to survive in the woods.  
Anna and Leo had been ordered out to help with the evacuation of their hometown. Camps was set up outside the hospital. They where controlling the cars going out of the city, Anna had just gone to get a glass of water when she saw trouble rising at the "gate", an angry man was jumping out of his car and screaming into Leos face, Leo tried to keep his cool and explain that the man had to wait his turn to pass. Anna rolled her eyes, hysterical people was the worst. She walked over to the man and calmly "whats the problem here" she looked from the man and over to Leo, Leo gave her a look silently saying he was very close to punch the guy. Anna turned back to the man and told him to get back into his car and to wait for his turn, the man was getting red in the face, and she could see the vain in his forhead, she have had enough already, with all her weight she pushed her weapon into the chest of the man "GET IN YOUR CAR, NOW!" she yelled, finally the man kept his mouth closed and got into his car. Anna turned to Leo but instead of meeting his brown eyes, her gray orbs cought the sight of a woman jumping out a window at the fourth floor at the hospital. Shrilling screams could be heard from the open windows at the building "What the hell" she breathed. She could see the panick written in Leos eyes "Mary!" and he started to run towards the steal door at the side of the building. "find her, ill cover your shift" Anna yelled after him.  
A big comotion in the back of the line cought her attention and she turned away from the hospital building, thinking it was the man who had been causing trouble earlier, but it was much worse then she thought, she saw a group of infected people attacking the camp and chaos broke lose. She held her weapon ready and fired at all the infected people she could see, People screaming and running everywhere, some was crawling on the ground trying to get away from the infected people trying to sink their teeth into their soft flesh. This was so much worse then she had ever experienced overseas. Anna grabed the neirest soldier she could see and started pulling him towards the crowd of the infected, she heard growling and turned her head as the soldier she had grabed turned towards her and clawed his his free hand at her arm holding his, his eyes where glazed over and dead, his skin was pale almost gray, she yelped and stumbled backwords, but the soldier kept advancing on her, she grabed her hunting knife with her free hand and shoved it up under his chin as hard as she could manage, the soldier fell limp on the ground, he pulled the knife out and hunshed over and threw up. She had never been so close to an infected befor, she whiped her mouth with the back of her hand. There where no time to panick now, their camp was overrun by the infected, her heard raced in her chest, where the fuck was Leo and Mary, they had to get out of there, Now! Suddenly she heard someone screaming her name and she she felt someone grab her sholder, she quickly turned and was ready to plunge her knife into the person skull but stoped just intime to see that it was Maryˋs terrefied face infront of her, she was wearing her bloody scrubbings, her hands where cowered in blood. "Leo is getting a car" Anna nodded and saw Leo jog over to one of the trucks, he jumped in and turned and stoped so they could jump in, they hit a few infected people on the way out. "holey shit, that was intence" Anna said, looking down at herself, her uniform was cowered in infected blood. "We gotta get home and find out what wer gonna do" both Anna and Mary nodded. "what the hell happened inside? i saw people jumping from the windows" Marys hands where shaking, she pulled her blood cowered hands through her dark brown wavey hair "it was crazy, one minute everything was fine, then suddenly there where infected people everywhere, some soldiers came in and starting shooting at everyone that moved, Leo managed to pull me out just in time. I was in the middle of a surgery." Anna stared out in the air, they had been hearing about a virus or something on the news, they had been evacuating people for three days, but never had it gotten this bad. She pulled out her cell and tried to dial a number to her officer, but there where no signals."Well this is pretty useless now" she said as she threw her phone in the back of the car. They pulled up infront of their house and rushed in. they locked all the doors. Anna walked over to the fridge and pulled out three beers, the other two was seated in the living room, she came out and handed them a beer each before she sat down. "ok, i think the world just ended" she said and pulled her beer up to a toste. "ill drink to that" Leo answered with a grin, Mary just stared at them " shit just hit the fan, and you two toast it?" she shook her head "i think the war have screwed with your heads more then we realized" Anna giggled and chuged down the rest of the beer in her hand before she slamed it on the coffetable. " well this is what we have trained for for 9 fucking years, how to survive." Leo nodded and grinned. "So are we gonna stay here or try our luck somewhere els?" he said when they had all finished their beer. "we should stay somewhere far from people" Anna was thinking out loud. "well this house is about 15 minutes walk from other houses, we have the woods behind us, everything we need is right here" Leo grabed his wifes hand and kissed it "then we stay here for now, we all pack our bags and camp out in the livingroom, incase we need to escape in a hurry." both Anna and Mary nodded, Mary leaned into Leo and kissed him passionatly on his lips. Anna rolled her eyes from the sight.


	8. returning to your roots.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For about a year the zombies have romed the streets, and only the strong survives an outbreak like this. Are Anna, Leo and Mary fit to handle it. How will Daryl cope after he loses his brother and find new friends. What happens when his old and new life colide?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any characters from the The walking dead, i only own the three i added into the mix. I hope you still enjoy reading this story, if you have the time leave a comment and tell me how you like it. :)

Daryl pulled up next to Rickˋs car and killed the engine, he had become the scout of the group since he easly could maneuver his bike between any roead blocks. They where yet again back on the road, he had really had his hopes set on Hershals farm, it was safe, they had food and shelter, it was perfect, but like everything els it was too good to last. The farm was overrun by walkers and they where forced back to the unsertainty on the road. They had already lost so meny, his brother was gone, that was nothing new he thought, Carols girl Sophia was gone, Shane was gone, but no one would miss him, except maybe Lori. He knew they had been shacking up back at the quarry, Dale was gone and Andrea. The only people left in his group now was Rick, his wife Lori, their son Carl, Hershal and his two daughters, Beth and Maggie, T-Dog, Glenn and Carol. They had been circeling the area all winter, trying to find a safe place but they where out of luck, there where only one small town left in the area that Daryl was trying to avoide, it was his home town. He had convinced the group to not go there, the memories there where to much for Daryl, but he never told the group that. He had just tried to convince them to take other roads other towns first. So far his plan to avoid his home town had worked, but now they where out of options, and Rick had desided that they where gonna try their luck there. Rick had sent Daryl ahead to check out the roads, to see if their little caravan of cars could get through. "How did it look" Rick asked him, catching a glimps back in his car at his wife and son sleeping inside. He was leaning his hip at the side of the car. "The streets are blocked in town, but its not far to walk, it looked quiet" He wished he could tell Rick that the town was overrun, but it was surprisingly free from walkes from what Daryl could see, and he knew Rick could tell if he was lying. Rick smiled and waved Hershal, Glenn and T-Dog over "Daryl says it looks pretty safe, i say we go " All three of them nodded and Daryls heart just droped. Time to face the past he thought, the bikes engine rawred to life and he turned the bike around "Alright people, we move out!" Rick shouted over the rawring of Daryls bike and sliped into his car. It wasnt that far, they parked their cars at an empty parkinglot at a Motel outside of town. "Its about 15 minutes walk from here" Daryl said as he grabed his bag and threw it over his sholder and held his bow in his right hand. They all started walking into town.

Anna and Mary was placed out on the roof on each side of the main street, they where on look out when Leo scavanged. The past year they had figured out a system that worked like a charm, they had more or less cleared out the entire mainstreet, they had traps and roadblocks all over so they could hear if any walkers came stumbeling near them when they came to loot. They had worked every day for almost a year to clear out the town, at the beginning they had shared the terretory with other people, but they had either lost hope and offed them selfs or they had moved on, as far as they knew they where pretty much the only living left. It did not bother them much, that ment they could survive longer where they where at before they too had to move on. The thing they had too look out for now a days was other people, living people, people who where just passing through, usually desperate people, people like that could do anything to get a hold of food, water and weapons. Anna pulled her jacket tighter around herself, her and Leo still used their uniform whenever they where outside, it was easy to recognize eachother, they had even striped a corps to dress up Mary too. They had been teaching Mary how to shoot and how to be comfortable with killing the infected, she was now a brilliant shoot. Mary had also been teaching Leo and Anna how to stich up wounds and basic things if they ever got hurt when they where out on their own. The air was chilly, it had to be late fall. Anna looked over at where Mary was placed and gave her a quick wave to check if everything was ok. Mary waved back, Annas gray orbs scanned the streets below, the building she was placed upon was only two floors high, but enough to have a good view throughout the entire street that they had claimed as theirs. She could see Leo sneak into one of the buildings below, they still had to be carefull even if they had cleared it, they often found stray infected people in places that used to be empty. Suddenly movement at the end of the street cought her attention, she looked through the scope of her rifle, there where a group of people actually, they did not seem to be infected, they where walking to straight and normal for that. Anna signalized to Mary and she saw that Mary spotted them too, Mary threw a tiny rock down on the concreat below right outside the shop where Leo had just entered, she could see Leo squating down to hide through her scope. She directed her scope back at the first person in the group, it was no one she had seen before, she looked over at the person walking next to him, it was a little boy wearing a sherrifs hat. Behind them was a couple of woman and then three men, it didnt look like the woman was in any kind of distress. She directed her scope at the man at the end of their formation, she gasped alittle, he looked familular. No it could not be. Could it? Her heart started racing, and she had to swallow hard a couple of times. The group was getting closer, she waited. Hopefully they would pass right through, she directed the scope back at the man at the end, it was deffently him. He had gotten longer hair, it was darker, but he looked the same, just older. Her heart droped when she saw the man in the front give the signal to go into the building next to them. Crap she thought, there where infected people in that building, they had not bothered to take them out since it was nothing in that building they needed. How where she gonna warn them before they walked right into a death trap. To hell with it, she could not sit back and watch a little boy get eaten with a clear conscience, she directed her sniper rifle at a better angle and shot one warning shot right infront of the mans boots. They all had silencers on, so the shot was muffled, but their heads snaped up in all directions, it almost looked comical. She had to bite her lip to not burst into laughter, instead she just grinned. They all grabed a gun and started point up at the buildings surrounding them. No use in keep hidden now, they did not look like people who gace up that easly. Mary got up and directed her rifle down at them, they spotted her and they all pointed their guns at her, fucking hell she thought, and grabed the semiautomatic weapon and directed it down on the crowd as she stood up lilke Mary, if they so much as thought about pulling the trigger on her bestfriend, then she would pepper them with bullets. She saw that Daryl had spotted her and was looking directly at her, he was pointing his bow at her, she knew how accurate he was with that thing, what he didnt know was who she was and how accurate she was with this deadly weapon in her hands. She saw in her side vision Leo walking out with his hands raised, but he still had his semi in his hands. Thank god they had desided to cover their faces under the helmet they wore. Daryl was not going to recognize him, maybe he could convince them to move on. She saw how Leo walked up to the man with the little kid.

Leo had kept his eyes on Anna hiding on the roof of the building oposite side of the building he was in, when he saw how she had switched to a semi automatich weapon and was now standing up and pointing it down on the street he knew something was up. He got up from his hiding spot and walked out of the store with his hands raised, he spotted the group and started walking towards them, the man closest to him was standing next to a kid, and he had now his gun pointed at him. When he was close enough to talk and not shout he stoped " We dont want any trouble, you and your people can lower your weapons" he said, the man pointing the gun at him scoffed "your guy up there just shot at us" he nodded towards Anna, and Leo grinned, so thats why these people where so on edge "Belive me if that was the case you would already be dead, we dont miss. No i belive it was a warning shot, especially if you all was gonna enter that building right there " Leo pointed at the building that they all stood infront of. " Full of infected bastards, havent bothered to clear it out yet" The man just looked at him with a very serious look, almost like he tried to figure Leo out. "I say it again, we mean no harm, you can all lower your weapons" Leo watched as a shabby looking man walked up to Rick, he had his bow directed straight at Anna. What the hell he thought, is that Daryl. "What do you think?" the man asked the man that looked like Daryl, Leo waited, "I dont trust these army fuckers" he responded in that gruffy deep southern drawl, Fucking hell it was him. Leo looked at him "Daryl?" he said and he saw Daryl snap his head towards him and stared at him with a cold look. Leo grinned, and slowly cliped his helmet off and pulled down the cower he had infront of his face. The man next to Daryl looked between the two. Leo only looked at the man that used to be his good friend back in the day, he saw recognition in Daryls eyes and he nodded towards him "hey man" he said. Leos grin grew wider "wanna tell your group to lower your weapons?" Leo was now directing his question to Daryl. Daryl pointed at the two on the roof "Tell ya guys to lower theirs first, Leo nodded and gave Mary and Anna a signal, Mary lowered hers first, Anna was still debating with her self it was a good idea or not. Daryl pointed his bow up at Anna "him too" Leo looked up at Anna and he just knew that Anna knew exactly who she was pointing her gun at. He gave her a quick nod and she rested her gun in the crock of her arm. Leo looked questionly at Daryl and he nodded towards his own group to lower their guns. The man Leo had been talking to first walked closer to Daryl and looked at him "Do you know this man?" Daryl started biting his thumb and nodded. The man continue to stare at him "can he be trusted?" Daryl nodded again, that made the man turn towards Leo again. "Im Rick" he said, Leo nodded "Im Leo". The man looked up at the roof at the two placed on each side " is it only the three of you?" Leo nodded "Do you guys have a safe place?" Leo nodded again and he could see a flicker of hope being lit in the mans eyes. "we need food and shelter, i have a little boy and my wife is pregnant" he stated and Leo whispered "wow, you guys been on the road long?" How could anyone bring a little kid and a pregnant woman out on the roud with infected people everywhere. "yes we where living on a farm, but it got overrun, we where forced out, we have been looking for a new place ever since, we have barly eaten and we need shelter to rest." Leo felt conflicted, he knew they never brought others into their safe place, it was dangerous, and since Daryl was in the group it kind of made it worse, but how could they turn their back at a kid and a pregnant woman.He knew Mary would understand, but he doubted Anna would be happy about what he was about to do "alright, well give you alittle food, water, let you all rest a couple of days, but then you all have to move on". Leo was interupted with a clicking sound, as they heard a growl and then a thump on the ground, one of the woman in the group screamed as a infected body fell down right next to her, it had a bullet hole in the middle of his forhead, Rick looked up at Anna standing pointing with her sniper rifle and then back down at the dead infected next to Beth who was now in the arms of her sister. "iˋm starting to understand it was a warning shot" Rick breathed. Leo smirked "Like i was saying, a couple of days and then you move on" Rick nodded and Leo could see the relief in the rest of the peoples faces. "Our place is right up this road" he said as he signaled for Anna and Mary to move out. They all started to follow Leo.

Anna skipped down the stairs and came out of the building the same time as Mary, the group was a couple of steps infront of them. "what the hell is Leo doing?" Anna whispered angrily at Mary, Mary just shruged, Anna couldnt let it go "why is he bringing them to our place?" Mary shruged again "probably becouse they have a kid in their group, they looked tired" Anna growled, her eyes scanned over the street "Did you see who was with them?" Mary nodded, and Anna could see her eyes was smiling deviously. "I refuse to let them stay". Leo rounded a corner infront of the towns mall, and walked alongside the building before he directed them into a back ally, he stoped and turned towards Rick and Daryl "Wait here, well just make sure its safe, and when we come and get you, move like us, we have traps all over the place" The two men nodded and told the others to stay put. Leo waved Anna and Mary forward, and they both joged past the others and disaperad inside the building. As the door closed behind them Anna shoved Leos sholder angrily " why the hell are you bringing them here for?" Leo looked at her dumbfonded "did you not notice the kid and the fucking pregnant lady in their group?" Anna rolled her eyes "offcourse i did, i also noticed that Daryl fucking Dixon, my fucking ex is with them too." Mary couldnt keep it in any longer and bursted out laughing, Anna shot her a glare. Mary tried to whipe the grin off of her face."It will only be a couple of days, then they will be on their way again, and we can go back to being just us, it will be like we never met them" Anna cursed under her breath "Ill take the higher level, you guys can bring the group inside". Leo gave Mary a hugh grin as Anna joged up the stairs to the third floor of the mall, jumping and ducking under the traps they had set up. Leo opened the door and waved them inside. As they walked inside Leo turned towards them "remember, move like us". Daryl looked around alittle uneasy "wheres the third guy?" Leo started walking up the stairs "checking out the higher levels" Mary grabed the pregnant womans arm as she was about to walk straight into a trap, the woman stared at Mary, Mary just pointed at the trip wire right infront of her foot, and the woman gave her a quick smile, Rick had seen it and nodded greatfully at Mary. Leo waved Mary at the front as they reached the second level, they both snuck out threw the heavy firedoors and out, it took about five minutes before the doors opened and the group was waved in. "Theres a furniture store right around the corner here, we made it our home, fucking comfy as hell, enough beds for everyone" this made the whole group laugh. They walked inside and Leo pointed at the front, we use this as a hang out erea, we sleep back there, you all can grab the beds over there" he said and pointed to the other end of the store. Rick, who was clearly the leader smiled and nodded. Leo walked over to his and Marys bed and put his weapons down and placed his helmet on the bedside table, the rest of the group had already found their beds, and Rick was about to come over to Leo and thank him again when he saw who they had referd to as the other guy take off the helmet and the army gear, long wavey brown hair came tumbeling down and she turned towards Rick, he met her soft golden orbs "you are a woman?" he breathed. Leo snickered "this is Mary, Rick, shes my wife" Rick extended his hand to greet her, and she gently shook his hand and smiled up. Daryl had steped up behind Rick and Mary smiled and waved at him "Hello Daryl". All heads turned towards the enterance as Anna walked in, she let out a scofft as she passed them and Rick looked curiously at her as she removed her gear as well and threw it on her bed "Thats a woman too" Rick said, puzzled. Anna looked back at them, and she met Daryls sky blue eyes, his jaw had literarly droped to the ground, she frowned, turned her back at them and took off her jacket "Yeah thats Anna, she is like my sister, and my wifes best friend" Rick looked back at Leo "who fired the warning shot?" Daryl asked gruffly, Leo nodded towards Anna and grinned, Daryl had not taken his eyes off of her since she took her gear off. At that second Anna walked past them, she looke straight into Daryls eyes "take a picture, itˋll last longer" she spat before she walked out. Rick looked at Daryl and saw how nervous his friend looked and then he turned to Leo "is something wrong?" Leo shruged and looked at Daryl. Daryl had clearly not told them that this was his hometown, and that they used to be friends."It takes a while for her to warm up to people" he figured it was up to Daryl to tell his people about his past.

After they all had found their beds and settled alittle they all gathered in the middle of the store, where the "livingroom" erea was. Daryl had tried to get over the shock of seeing, Leo, Mary and Anna, most of all Anna, he tried to keep him self busy cleaning his boltz, but he cought him self staring in the other direction to try to catch a glimps of them, more times than he liked to addmit. He didnt notice that some of his group memebers where staring at him with curiousity. He looked up as Leo walked towards them and handed them some cans of food and some water bottles, everyone smiled up at him and thanked him. "If any one of you are hurt or something, my wife could take a look at you, shes a skilled dr." Daryl met Leos stare. Had Leo married Mary. He would never have guessed in a million years that they would last all these years, they where an odd couple back when they where teens, Mary a cheerleader and one of the popular, Leo an outcast. Rick stepped up to Leo "Hershal is our dr, so we have that covered, but maybe your wife could check up Lori and her baby, that is not really Hearshals speciality" Rick was pointing towards Lori and Leo nodded. "sure thing". Daryl was aching to ask Leo about Anna, but didnt wanna draw attention to himself. He watched as Leo turned and walked over to Mary, he watched them talk and Mary smiled widely, he continued to watch them and saw that Anna joined in on their conversation, he could see how agetated she looked as she threw her hands up in the air and both Mary and Leo turn and walk back to his group, Mary walked up to Lori and introduced herself and they both walked over to a bed where they could talk more privatly. Leo had suddenly disaperad. Daryl let out a heavy breath, he had started to bite his thumb, this was more awkward then he could ever imagine.   
Leo returned with a case of something and put it on a table in the middle of where the group was sitting. "This will help people relax a bit i recond" he said as he opened the casing. Glenn was the first one to look into the case and pull up a bottle of wine "How did you get your hands on this?" he asked Leo " clearing out a shopping mall has some percks" Leo said and grabed a bottle and opened it, took a swig of it and sat down next to Daryl. Daryl stared at the floor, trying to keep invisable, but Leo wherent going to let him off that easy. "glad to see you alive Daryl, been a long time" Daryl just grunted and Glenns head shot up "how do you two know eachother?" the people around had started to open the wine and was now passing on the bottles, Daryls eyes flickered between Glenn and Leo, not sure of what to say. " we where friends the last year of highschool" Leo simply stated. "Daryl had friends?" Glenn continued and this comment made Daryl scofft. "Yeah sure, we where always hanging out all four of us" Daryl head snaped up and gave Leo a silent warning. His group didnt need to know that him and Anna had been a couple. "So you and her are married?" the man who Rick had introduced as T-Dog asked, and Leo nodded. "yeah started dating second year of highschool and have been married for about a year. Came home from serving in the army overseas, had a close call and couldnt let her slip through my fingers, so had to make her leagaly mine" Daryl watched Leo take a nother long swig of the wine before he whiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "What about the blond girl? is she single?" T-Dog asked with a smirk, Daryl glared at T-Dog "mind ya own business" he spat at the man. "yeah Anna is single, but shes not really into all that dating shit, as she would put it" Glenn looked curious at Leo "is she a lesbian?" this question was repaid with Maggie shoving her elbow hard into his side "you dont ask questions like that" she whispered annoyed " what?" he whispered back "the guy said she wherent into guys". The bickering between the two, who Leo had figured was a couple made him laugh "No she is very much into guys, but she prefers being on her own" , Daryl pretended to not be interested in the conversation, but he sucked up every word. Anna was single, he thought she had a boyfriend or was married, had the man died in the outbreak?. "Aww how sad, was her man killed by walkers?" the young blond, who they called Beth asked with her light sweet voice, Leo shook his head and burped "no, she havent been dating since our last year of highschool. Something terrible happened to her right before she was gonna start at collage, she and her parants where in a nasty car accident and she havent been the same after" Leos voice had become hard, Daryl looked at Leo and met his frown " Did something happen to her parants? " he managed to squeek out, Leo just stared at him and Daryl could read the blame in Leos eyes, after a while he continued "they died in the crash, and she was left with no one, the person who should have been there supporting her, had vanished into thin air" this statement made Daryl cringe, he grabed his bow and walked out of the room, he couldnt face Leos guilt trip right now. He walked aimlessly around, Leos words repeating in his head, he wasnt looking where he was going and suddenly he bumped into someone who was just rounding a corner, he looked up from his feet and stared right into Annas gray orbes "Watch it asshole" she spat threw gritted teeth "sorry" he mumbled as she brushed past him, he turned, he should say something "im sorry about ya mom and dad" he finally managed to say, she quickly turned and walked straight up to his face "yeah your sorry arent worth shit..... take your fucking group, Daryl, and do what you do best and disapear out of my life" he couldnt find any words and was standing there opening and closing his mout like a fucking fish on land, he saw the pain and the anger in her eyes before she quickly turned on her heals and marched back to where she had come from. Daryl pulled his hands through his hair. He had imagined how it would be if he ever met her again over and over when he couldnt sleep at night, but he had never imagined that it would hurt this bad to see her after all these years. He knew he had screwed up big time.


	9. supplie run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick is desperate to get his group to safety, can he convince Leo to let them stay?. How will Anna deal with the fact that Daryl is back in her life after ten long years, is it possible for them to work together? 
> 
> I do not follow the storyline of the show and i do not own the characters from the show. Thank you for reading :)

The next morning Ricks group woke up well rested, but some probably had a slight headache from the wine the night before. Daryl rubbed his eyes and pushed himself up to a sitting position, his blue eyes landed on the woman that was gathering up the empty bottles in the livingroom erea. His heart started racing just by the sight of Anna, he studied her, her hair was slightly longer, still pale blond, alittle more wavey than he remembered, her face had gotten more mature, more edgy and her eyes had gotten hard and cold through the years. But her body was still curvy as he remembered, she was beautiful, her movements was not as clumsy as he remembered, now they where accurate and gracefull. Damn no wonder he could not stop thinking about her, all the skanks that his brother had pushed on him the last 10 years had nothing on her, she looked like a godess. His eyes shifted as Rick walked over and sat down on his bed next to him. "We need to get Leo to let us stay with them" his now good friend stated. Daryl swallowd hard, he knew how desperate Rick was to find a safe place, and that he felt like the lifes of the people in the group was his responsibility. But convincing Leo to make them stay, with their past would be near impossible. "we can keep looking, there must be other places where we could be safe" Daryl answered. Rick leaned towards Daryl so that no one could hear their discussion "look, i can see theres alot of bad blood between you and them, especially the blond girl" Daryl looked at the floor "her name is Anna" he grunted and Rick looked sternly at him "thats right, Anna. What ever beef she got with you, you better fix it. We need their survival skills, and we need the dr for Lori and the baby. " Rick leaned over and stared into Daryls eyes "I dont think they have it in them to move on right now" Daryl sighed, he had tried to tell Anna how sorry he was about her parants, but that had not turned out well. Daryl was about to say something, but Leo walked over "hey, you guys slept ok?" Rick smiled up at the man and nodded. "If there are anything you three need help with, my group is more then willing to pull their weight" Rick said. Daryl could see that Leo was reading between the lines of what Rick had just said, and that made Daryl cringe. He knew they had to beg to stay. Merles voice rang through his head, A Dixon never begged!. Rick got up "Leo can we talk?" Leo met Daryls eyes again before he nodded towards Rick and they walked out of the furniture store. "Look, i know you said we could stay a couple of days, but we are desperate, i cant drag my pregnant wife out into that deathtrap out there. We need to stay, we need your help" Leo kind of knew this was comming, he had seen how worn out they all where. "If it was up to me, i would not have a problem with it. But its not only up to me" Rick stared at him and pulled his hand over his beard. "There must be a way to solve this?" Leo shruged, it had simply been too long. "Its not really the group that is the problem" Leo sighed. Rick rubbed his fingers over his eyes "yeah i got that the problem is Daryl, i told him to fix it. " Leo snickered slightly "yeah i dont see that happening anytime soon." He knew how hot headed Daryl used to be, and how hot headed Anna was now, only thing they had in common now was how stubborn they both where. "She refuses to talk with him" Leo continued. Rick looked into the store, he looked like he was deep in thoughts "it must be a way to force them to talk things through" Leo could not see the point in this conversation, it all boiled down to Anna refusing to be near Daryl. "only way to make them talk is to lock them up alone for a month" Leo said jokingly. Rick snaped his head back at Leo "if i can get them to work out their problems, will you let us stay with you?" Leo just shruged, "i guess". 

Anna brushed through her hair and tied her hair up into a messy bun, she walked over to Mary. "Did you talk to them last night?" Mary smiled and nodded "they seem nice" Anna scofft "yeah and stupid, who the hell goes out and get them self pregnant in a world like this?" Anna didnt think before she talked and saw the hurt in Marys eyes. Anna grabed Marys hand and squeezed it "im sorry Mary, i know how much you want kids with Leo", Marys eyes had began to tear up, but she whiped them away and took a deep breath "no your right, it is reckless and selfish to bring kids into this world. I know that, Leo knows that." Mary could not help her longing looks over at Loris pregnant belly though. She shook her head and tried to focus on something els "have you talked to him yet?" Mary asked when she saw Daryl layin on the bed next to Loris, fidgeting with one of his boltz. "not really talked, i told him to go to hell" Mary sat down on the bed next to Anna. "Dont you think that its time to talk to him and maybe get some closure?" Anna sighed, in her mind there was not much to say anymore. Daryl had said what he needed the day he dumped her. " he have sertainly changed" Mary breathed, Anna followed Marys gaze, and for the first time she alowd her self to really look at him. His hair was longer, slightly darker, it suited him, his sholder was wider, stronger, his mucles more toned, that deffently suited him, he still wore worn out clothes, but that was just Daryl, she could not really picture him any other way. Woman must really be throwing them selfs at his feet, she had noticed how a woman with short grayish hair looked at him, maybe there was something going on between them. That thought gave her a bad taste in her mouth and she frowned, snap out of it Anna, cant think shit like that. She looked back at Mary, "Do we need anything? i was thinking on going out on a run or something? " Anna knew they did not need anything, she just needed to get out and get some fresh air, sort out her thoughts. "Ask Leo" she said before she walked over and joined the others. Anna had seen that Leo and Rick was standing outside of the store talking, she walked over to them "Do we need anything? i was thinking going out on a run" Leo looked at her and raised his eyebrow and nodded, he could easely see that she needed some distance. Rick beemed up "We need alot of supplies, cant really take more of yours, i will send someone with you" before Anna had the chanse to tell him that she was fine on her own, he had disaperad into the store. Leo laughed "he is deffently eager to prove that they can pull their weight" Anna scofft "He is probably sending one of the woman, tell her im outside waiting in the ally" Leo nodded and watched as she grabed her gear and her gun and walk over to the stairs.   
She stood outside waiting for what seemed like an houer, what the hell, did these woman need to get their make up in order before they whent out on runs or something, she pulled out a cigg from her pack she had found yesterday and lit it, she stood with her back to the door and looked for infected, when the door creeked open and she turned to give the woman a piece of her mind when it came to get their ass in gear. Her eyes locked with Daryl as he steped out into the sunshine "you got to be fucking kidding me" she mumbled angrily before she started walking.   
After walking in silence for about fifteen minutes when Daryl cleared his voice " the town is back there" his voice low and scruffy, it was darker then she remembered, and it still made her get goosbumps all over, Anna rolled her eyes "i know that, ive been living here for ten years now. the town is whiped clean, we have to go to the next town" Daryl stared at her, was she serious, where they gonna walk to the next town, it would take them a day to go there and back. " we wount be back until its dark if wer gonna walk there and back, dont ya have a car?" Anna huffed and turned "does it look like im driving, no we dont use a car when going out on runs, we only use them when it is absolutly nessesary, yes it will get dark, that is why i usually camp out, if it bothers you that much then you are more then welcome to go back. i am sure you can find the way" she started walking again but this time she picked up the pace. "my bike is parked at the motel outside of town, we could use it" Offcourse Anna thought, he was still glued to that fucking bike. Probably the only thing in the world he ever cared about. "yes, you go get your bike, ill walk, gotta work on my tan" she said, she felt Daryls eyes burn into her back "how ya gonna do that, ya all covered up" he said, but then he realized what she ment and he kept quiet. They walked in silence for about an houer before Daryl spoke up once again "why ya wearing all that shit, ya in the army or somethin? " When the hell had Daryl become this chatty, she thought, he was always so quiet when he was younger. "yes i was" she spat, trying to end the conversation before it began "ya joking?" he said and looked her over, he could not quite picture Anna crawling around in the mud like that. "No im not, i served almost 5 years overseas with Leo" Daryl almost stumbled on his feet. "wherent ya going to some fancy college?" Anna just shruged "changed my mind.... " Daryl thought about this for a minute, that was the reason he had broken things off with her, so that she would be free to do as she pleased and she had not left for college. All that heartache for no reason. "why?" he said, the anger starting to boil in him, he grabed her arm and forced her to stop, Anna turned towards him, anger written all over her face. "why? why i didnt go to college.... ?, well it didnt really seem all that important when your parants die and your boyfriend just walks out on you, can say i had other things on my mind then to solve a fucking math problem." She shruged off his arm "why the fuck do you even care what i did back then, you walked out on me. I was only a fucking toy to you, and when you got bored you just ditched me like it was nothing. I didnt ask you to come, Leo knows im better on my own, i can handle myself, if it bothers you that much that you have to walk to the next town then get your ass in gear and run back to your girlfriend, im sure she misses you like crazy" She turned and marched away from him. Daryl just stood there looking at her back as she continue to walk, girlfriend?. he joged after her. "What ya mean girlfriend? " Anna couldnt belive she had let that slip, why did she care if he had one or not, it wasnt any of her buisness. "just forget it" she sighed, suddenly to tired to continue to argue with him, but Daryl wasnt planing on letting go of it "no, what ya mean by that?" Anna rolled her eyes in annoyance "ok, i saw how that grayhaird woman practically drooled all over you, thought you two had somethin going on" she said, but then she turned and looked up at him and blinked those beautifully gray eyes "did that help boozt your manly ego?" then her inocencnt eyes and sweet smile turn into a scowl before she directed her eyes back at their suroundings.

Mary glared at Leo and Rick, she had overheard Rick telling Leo that he sent Daryl with Anna on her run, and how their masterplan about them working things out was going so perfectly "Are you two fucking insane?" Mary rubbed her tempels as she stared down at the floor for one secound before she looked back up at the two, their smirk was gone " Your master plan is gonna get them both killed, Leo you should know better, you know Anna, you know she dont think clearly when she gets mad, and you know she takes risks, she is a daredevil. And you know how Daryl used to be a hothead, i doubt that have changed over the years, the two of them together, in the state of mind they are in, its a fucking ticking timebomb!" She had raised her voice with every word and was now shouting up at the two. The others had stoped doing what they where doing and was now staring at them curiously. Mary was terrefied of loosing her bestfriend, and she could not belive the stupidity of their plan. Leo knew better then to speak up when Mary was furious like this but Rick did not know " they will have time to work out their issues now, with no one around" Mary blinked and looked at Rick, was this man for real???. "if you wanted your master plan to work, you should have locked the two of them up in a padded room with straight jacket. Not armed to the teeth, out in the open with infected or walkers as you call them wanting to ripp them to pieces." Leo looked at Rick, suddenly feeling uneasy, maybe their plan wasnt as airtight as they thought. Rick was thinking the same, he could see it was written all over his face. "so what do you suggest we do now?" Rick said and rubbe his bearded jaw. "all we can do is wait, we dont know where they are headed" Mary said and shook her head .

Daryl and Anna had spotted a wallmart, and Anna knew there had to be alot of goods in a place like that, they where usually untouched becouse it was too much hastle to break in and it was usually stuffed to the rim with infected. "i think we just won the lottery" she said and started walking towards the store. "are ya joking, thats a fucking suiciderun" Anna turned and looked at him while walking backwards "so what??? wer all gonna die sometime, why not make it count" she turned and started jogging over to the doors. Fucking hell, did she take a bullet in the head or something, she is fucking crazy he thought as he jogged on after her. Anna looked into the dusty glass windows, she could already spot about five walkers neer the exit. Daryl watched her, she turned and had a crazy grin "the place is crawling with them, this is gonna be fun" she said before she turned and banged on the glass "what tha fuck are ya doin" the crazy grin was stil on her face "im just railing them up alittle" she said and laughed. The walkers started to claw at the glasswindow, she steped up on her toes and kissed the glass right where the walkers face where "so your my date for this evening, well arent you a handsome son of a bitch" she smirked. She walked over and pushed on the door, it swung open and she ran inside, shooting around her. Daryl snaped out of his trance. The girl he loved had turned into a butcrazed woman, he held his bow tight and ran in after her, he shot his boltz silently and with deadly accuracy into the walkers heads. He followed after Anna as she moved further into the store while he gathered his boltz from the walkers heads, he was not gonna let her off her self by a walkers bite. She wasnt kidding the place was packed, their growls was so loud. Anna jumped over the counter to the small pharmacy, she pressed her hunters knife into the temple of a walker who was comming at her as she jumped off on the other side of the counter. Daryl followed, they sat for a moment, both phanting and sweating, anna cliped in a full mag into her gun "grab anything you think will be usefull, ill cover your ass so you can return to your girlfriend" Daryls anger was yet again building up inside of him "she aint ma girlfriend" he huffed as he got up and started stuffing his bag. Anna laughed sarcastically as she got up too and started fireing "Awwww, havent worked up the currage yet to ask her out on the famous Dixon date special?" she mocked, she didnt know what had come over her, she usually wherent so full of shit, but just looking at Daryl and thinking how happy he must be to be ridd of her was making her insane. Daryl turned towards her and jumped over the counter after Anna "i didnt hear you complain when we where out camping" he grunted, Anna stabed a woman in the eye "thats couse i didnt know anybetter" her poisones words stung like hell and Daryl lost focus for a secound, Anna turned and saw that a walker was right behind Daryl and was about to sink its teeth into Daryls sholder, she lifted her gun and fired, Daryls eyes widened and he steped back but stumbled and fell, he landed on the dead walker. "stop fucking around Daryl" she barked. He have had enough of this shit. He looked around and grabed his knife, he stabed the last walker in the head and watched it fall to the ground. He then stomped off and started collecting what he could find of canned food. Anna huffed and walked in the other direction and grabed what she could find of wather bottles, she grabed a couple of candy bars for the little kid in Daryls group and some comics. Must be boring to be a kid in this world. When she could not stuff more into her bag, she walked over to the exit and peeked outside, it was getting dark, and she knew it was too risky to walk around in the dark. They had to spend the night there. She barricaded the door as best she could. Then she jumped up on the counter and lit a cigg, she took a deep pull and took her helmet off and let her hair down. "What the hell was the meaning of all this?" she jumped alittle hearing Daryls gruffy voice right next to her, she had not heard him comming, he snatched the cigg from inbetween her fingers and took a deep pull and whiped his sweaty forhead with the back of his hand. "well your group needed suplies, stores as big as this one is usually untouched, and here we are, we got the suplies." she simply stated, not knowing why he needed to ask about something so obvious. "We could get killed!" Anna rolled her neck to loosen up the tence mucles "but we didnt. And now your group are all set to go find your own safeplace" Daryl stared into the air, he understood her motive for this stupid stunt now "so you risked your life for a alittle canned food, just so you can get ridd of me faster?" she leaned her arms on her tighs "wow, ten points to Daryl" wow he thought, her tongue was sharper then her hunting knife, everytime she opened her pretty mouth it stung like a bitch. "ya know Rick is trying to convince Leo to let us stay with ya" Anna sighed "yes, i figured that much" she inhaled and exhaled slowly "dosent mean i like it one bit, and it dosent mean i have to be around you." Daryl had started chewing at his thumb again, this conversation was so awkward and painful "ya really hate ma guts that much, huh?" Anna rubbed her sholder where she had the gunwound scar "why do you feel the need to ask me questions that you already know the answer too, its getting kinda boring" she hissed alittle when she felt how sore her mucles really where. She had been tenced up every since she had spotted Daryl the day before. "why do you even care if i hate you or not, you walked out on me remember. I didnt mean shit to you, so why does it matter now all of a suddon. " He had noticed her continuing to rubb her neck and sholders, he whiped his hands on his jeans and gestured her to turn her back towards him, she didnt quite understand why he motioned her to turn her back towards him, but did it out of curiosety, then she felt his hand on her sholders, gently but firmly rubbing his thumbs in circles on her sore sholderblades and neck, it made shivers run down her spine and she got goosbumps all over "yaˋr wrong" she could feel his warm breath near her neck and she jumped away "dont touch me" she snarld at him. He was still standing there with his hands raised, then he looked at the floor and shoved his hands down his pockets. "What you mean im wrong?" she asked and started to pace back and forth. Daryl wanted to explain, but he couldnt find the words for it so he just shruged "it dosent matter, ya wouldnt belive me anyways" This made Annas anger flare up again and she pushed her pointer into his chest , who was he to tell her she was wrong and not follow through with a fucking explenation. " screwing me over one time wasnt enough for you, was it, no, you just had to strawl into my life again and fuck shit up for me, your like a fucking plague, i was fine until you fucking showed up again, i fucking curse the day when my dad hired you to work on the barn, i fucking hate myself for walking right into your fucking game, i should have known better then to let you use me for your own fun". Daryl could see the pain in Annas eyes, he felt it too, it had been ripping him apart for 10 years, but that she thought he had just played with her and used her pissed him off. He pushed her into the counter on the other side and was now right up in her face, growling through gritted teeth" yeah i screwed up, big time, i know that, but dont ya ever acuse me of just using ya, i fucking worshiped ya....i was nothin without ya, scared the living shit out of me that ya where gonna leave me.... i knew i wasnt good enough for ya, going away would make ya see it too, i couldnt deal with it, so i did ya a fucking favor and cut ya lose" the blood was boiling inside of him, the rage was like an inferno, he lost his selfcontrol and he leaned in and kissed her hard, forcing his tongue inside her mouth, he felt her hands push hard against his chest and he took step back, he opened his glazed eyes and watched her whipe her mouth off with the back of her hand, her hands where shaking "your lying" she spat. He had just poored his heart out to her about how he felt about her, his insecurity, that he always kept well hidden, he threw his hands in the air "whatever" he murmered and stomped off. He walked over to the ile where the alcohole was placed, he grabed the nearest bottle and gulped it down, he slid down to the floor, pulled his knees up and huged them. What had he just done.  
Anna legs gave and she sunk down on the floor, she pulled her hands through her hair, what the hell had just happend. Her heart was beating hard in her chest, her hands was still shaking, her eyes teared up, this felt almost like their break up all over. Why the hell did she suddenly feel the urge to bawl her eyes out, she was over him, then why the fuck did it feel like her heart was just ripped out of her chest. How could he stand here and lie her straight in the face and fucking kiss her. She touched her lips with her thrembeling fingertips, she could still taste him and feel his lips pressing hard against hers, she closed her eyes and inhaled, she tore her jacket off, feeling like she couldnt breath, her thoughts was a mess, going in all kinds of directions. Why had he done that, she felt the urge to scream, but she couldnt find her voice, a whimper escaped her lips, hot tears ran down her face. How could he still have this effect on her. It was so unfair. He just walked all over her again. She was stronger then this, she knew she was, she had been to fucking war for crying out loud. She had seen people been blown up, she had picked up bloody limbs after her fallen comrads without shedding a tear, and now, one fight and she turned into a sobbing puddel. She hated this. How was she gonna face him tomorrow. She rolled up her jacket and laid her head down on it and closed her eyes. She knew she wouldnt be able to get any sleep, but she had to try. After what she recond must had been about a couple of houers, she sighed and sat back up, she could hear noises comming from the other side of the store, she grabed her gun and walked lightly down the ile, had they missed one?, the noise was getting louder so she knew it must be right around the corner, she heard glass being shattered, was Daryl in trouble. She lifted the gun up and moved slowly around the corner, she had her flashlight next to the scope and she was directing it around, she stoped at a figure sitting on the floor, as the light hit him he lifted his hands up over his eyes "get that fucking thing outa my face" she breathed out slowly, and rested her gun in the crock of her arm, but kept the flashlight directed at Daryl "Are you drunk?" she asked. Daryl laughed a humorless laughter "dosent take much these days" he took another swig at the bottle then threw it at the colum further down the ile, and she heard the glass shatered hitting the hard surface. "And you calling me suicidal for wanting to raid a store?" she said sarcasticly."Your no better, getting wasted while out on a run" Daryl just glared up at her in the dark "shut up and drink" he slurred. She leaned against the shelfs next to her "no think ill pass on that, we both know what happend last time i was drunk around you" Darly laughed again, same humerless laughter "afraid im gonna take advantage of ya and force ya to do somethin ya will regret again?" Anna sighed "i never said you forced me to do anything" Daryl stagered to his feet, he had to grab a shelf to keep steady "ma bad, i used ya, thats how ya said it." his voice sounded bitter. She didnt see the point in continuing this conversation now, he was drunk and they where getting no where. She turned and was about to walk back "what??? ya just gonna walk away? ya run out of sassy poisones coments? " Anna turned "yeah Daryl, im gonna just walk away, i learned from the best" Daryl took one step towards her but ended up two steps back "ouch" he slurred. "ya know what, i think ya enjoy kicking me in tha nuts" Anna sighed "No i dont enjoy this at all. You should get some sleep Daryl" He grabed another bottle and was about to open it but droped it, it fell to the floor right next to his boots and shatterd into a million sharp pieces "ops" he said and giggled, he took a nother step but the floor was wet from the wine and he slipped and fell, Anna directed her flashlight down on him and saw him laying on the broken glass, she walked over and grabed his arm and started pulling on him "get your ass up, have to check if you cut yourself" Daryl tried to get up on his feet and grabed her tighs and hips to steady himself. "im fine, someone should clean up that mess though" he giggled, Anna rolled her eyes at his bullshit. She got him to stand and she directed him over to a shelf "now hold on, so you dont trip on your big feet and fall again" She pulled off his leather jacket with the white wings on and threw it on the floor, she lifted his shirt up to see if he was bleeding "hey hey, " he said and started pulling his shirt down "Stop it, ive seen you naked before, remember. And i promise i wount tell your girlfriend when we get back" Daryl kept tugging his shirt out of her hands "she aint my girlfriend, i told ya already" Anna shone the flashlight at him to see his face, he squeezed his eyes shut from the bright light "can you just let me see, if you are cut we have to stitch you up" Daryl scowled at her "will ya stop calling carol my girlfriend?" Anna gave up "fine, now lift your arms" she pulled his shirt up and right above his hip was a piece of glass stuck into his skin "i knew it, now come on, i have what we need in my jacket." she pulled on his arm as he followed her, she told him to lay on the counter while she pulled out a thread and needle, he slid up on the counter and laid down, he pulled his arm over his eyes, she bit down on the butt of the flashlight so she could see what she was doing before she pulled out the glass and held a rag over the wound until it had stoped bleeding, then she pressed the needle threw the skin "ya the only one ya know" she wasnt really paying attention to what he was saying, she just continued to push the needle through and make a loop, he hissed, she looked at him and took the flashlight out "sorry, what do you mean, im the only one?" she asked and placed the flashlight back in between her teeth, better to get him to focus on something els then what she was doing, she thought, as she focused on her hands "that have been ma girlfriend" she froze for a minute, her hands started shaking, she had not expected him to say that, she had often wondered if he was seeing someone, what he did, how he lived his life. "oh" was all she could manage to say, she pushed the needle through the skin one more time before she made the last loop and tied it up. "There, all done" she said and grabed the flashlight and she pulled his shirt down "now you should get on the floor before you fall off that counter and hurt your self even more, and maybe you should get some sleep" Daryl rolled off the counter and more or less flopped onto the floor, she slid down and rolled her jacket up and pushed it under her head as a pillow as she laid down too. She thought he was sleeping already, she yawned and closed her eyes, when he suddenly grunted " good thing the phone service is down, or els i would have harrased ya again" Annas eyes snapped open, wait what. "you where the creep calling me all the time? he didnt answer so she kicked his foot "stoped when ya boyfriend threatend to go to tha cops" he answered, her jaw droped, she had never thought it could have been him. She laid back down on her jacket "It wasnt my boyfriend, it was Leo".


	10. captured

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are awkward between Anna and Daryl after the nights confession, how will it play out when they get back to the rest of the group, is Anna ready to forgive Daryls teenstupidity?

Daryl slowly came to, a warm body was pressed up against him, and he snuggled even closer, he had not felt this comfortable in years, he inhaled deeply, a sweet scent that reminded him of anna filled him, he jolted fully awake and stared right into a mass of pale blond hair, he looked down on him self, he was on his side, pressed into Annas curvy body, his right hand tightly wraped around her waist. He slowly lifted his arm and carefully not to wake her up and catch him in a position like this, moved away, he got up on his feet and rubbed his eyes with the heals of his palms, he had not slept this peacefull in years. His side stung like a bitch and he lifted his shirt up and inspected his red cut, he let his fingers slide over Annas stitches, nicely done, he pulled alittle on the skin to test if the stitches would hold. He dropped his shirt and looked over at the exit, it was sunrise, his mouth felt dry and a massive headache ripped through his head, he walked over and grabbed a waterbottle and chuged it down, he then looked around for his jacket, it was alittle cold, he remembered how Anna had thrown it on the floor and walked over to the ile he had been sitting in the night before. He picked up his leather jacket and shook it before he slipped it on, he walked around to the next ile and grabed two cans of spaghetti and meatballs and walked back to Anna, he placed the cans on the counter and started opening them up with his hunting knife. The noise from cutting metal woke Anna up and she quickly threw her self to her feet, ready to defend herself "breakfast is served" he grunted and handed her one of the cans. She jumped up on the counter and started scooping up the tomatoflavored spaghetti in her fingers and shoving it into her mouth. She watched Daryl from her sidevision as he was doing the same and the tomatosause off of his fingers, she swallowd, mezmerised by the scene. Oh god she thought to her self, you get turned on by the sight of the man eating, get a grip of your self, she barked internally at her self. "theres alot of supplies here, should go back and bring more people, before anyone els snatches it" he stated and then turned to look at her, she tore her eyes away from him, slightly blushing by the thought of him catching her drooling over him again. Its only becouse its been so long since youve been this close to a man she reasured herself, it has nothing to do with him. She quickly nodded and put her half eaten can down on the counter, she whiped her mouth with the back of her hand and sighed.  
They had quickly packed up their bags and what they could carry and started to head back, they had walked in silence, dodging the few walkers that had strayed up at the highway. Both deep in thoughts about the events from their night together. As they came up to the Motel that Daryl and the group had parked their cars, he stoped "we should bring a car back" Anna looked over at the parkinglot and nodded, she needed alittle time to her self to think, to get some space. It was mid day already and knowing Mary, she was probably chewing off her fingernails in worry about her. She quickly slid into one of the cars and waited for Daryl to get on his bike, she heard the bikes engine rawr to life and she slowly backed out and drove after Daryl.

The group was sitting in the living erea, trying to keep a light conversation going, but the worry about both of the groups members was laying heavely on their sholders "they should have been back by now" Mary stated and looked with worried eyes at Leo. "Daryl can handle himself out there, he will not let any harm come to your friend" Carol said, trying to comfort Mary. It was starting to get on Marys nerves how the woman talked about Daryl, like she knew him so well and they didnt. "Look lady, i know both of them can handle them selfs out there, they are both excelent at what they do, but how things are between them, the odds are against them" she spat at the woman. Leo placing a hand on the small of her back, to try to calm her down and directed an apolegetic look towards Carol, the lady huffed and got up and walked over to Lori who was laying on the bed with a smile, stroking her belly. Leo leaned over to Glenn who was seated next to him and he whispered "does she have a thing for Daryl?" He had also noticed how the woman acted around Daryl and how she spoke about him, like he belonged to her. Glenn sighed "we where actually betting candy on when the two of them would hook up, she is the only one except Rick that have gotten close to him." Leo frowned, this could really turn into a disaster. They heard a bit of a comotion outside the store and they all got up, suddenly both Anna and Daryl walked in and placed their heavy bags on the floor, Leo and Mary walked over and hugged Anna tightly, Leo was just about to tell them both how good it was to see them and how worry they had been, when Carol stormed over and threw herself around Daryls neck and hugged him tight. Leo looked over at Anna with a consearned look and saw Annas glare, she huffed and picked up her bag. Daryl stood awkwardly while Carol pressed herself onto him, he was alittle confused, Carol had never done anything like this before and he didnt really know how to react to it, He met Annas glaring eyes and heard her huff as she brushed pased them and threw her backpack infront of Rick before she whent over to her bed and laid down on it facing the wall. Daryl grabed Carols hands and prayed them off of his neck and pushed her gently a few steps back "oh" she giggled slightly "i was just so worried about you" Daryl just grunted and looked over at Leo and Marys judgemental looks, Mary looked ready to punch his face where she was balling up her fists. What the hell was wrong with people today?. He walked out of the store and walked over to a fastfood resturant and slid down into one of the booths. He grabed a cigg and lit it and took a deep pull.He looked up and saw Leo slide down next to him "how did it go?" Daryl took another pull and and exhaled out the smoke "Anna has gone batshit crazy" Leo snickered, he couldnt argue with Daryl on that "what did she do now?"Daryl sighed "she stormed into a WallMart swarming with walkers " Leo nodded knowingly "yeah she usually does shit like that, how we cleared out this mall" Daryl rubbed his chin and played with his cigg "soooo, whats the deal with you and Carol?" Leo didnt know how els to ask this question and desided to just be blunt about it, he knew Daryl hated when people didnt come to their point. "what the hell is wrong with yall? nothin is going on!" he was getting annoyed with people linking him up with carol. "that back there looked alittle more then nothin to me" Leo said, staring back at Daryl, he wouldnt let this one slip, he refused to let Anna suffer more then she already did. "your group is actually bettin on when you two will hook up" Daryl balled his fists "so i cant fucking turn around now without someone thinkin i have a hidden agenda?" Daryl inhaled sharply "her kid whent missing, i helped her look for her daughter, i was her friend when she found out that her daughter was bit and turned into a walker..... " Leo thought about what Daryl said for a minute "well looks like she wants more then a friendship" he said and grabed Daryls cigg and took the last pull before he put it out in a dirty glass "im just looking out for my bestfriend here, shes like a sister to me now, Anna have suffered enough" Daryl exhaled and his sholder slumped, the anger siped out of his body and was replaced with guilt "I know, if i could go back and handle things differently, i would. I hate seeing her this torn. I hate to know that im partialy responsible for it. I screwed up, i let my insecurity and my brother get the best of me, i have regretted that every fucking day for the last ten years. I havent even touched another woman since that day, not that i can remember atleast" Leo looked at the man that used to be his friend and saw how defeated he was, he knew Daryl hated to show his vounrability like this, but he just had to know "Do you still love her?" Daryl wanted to shout yes, but he didnt wanna seem like a mushy pussy, Merle and his fathers moching words still lingered in the back of his head "ive never stoped thinking about her" he just grunted. Leo had no problems understanding the meaning of those words, he grabed Daryls sholder "you should tell her that.... " Daryl scofft "i tried last night, when we where cooped up in that wallmart, she didnt belive a word i said" Leo got up from his seat "give her some time, shes stubborn and a hothead like you, it will sink in eventually, just keep that carol woman on an arms leangth whenever Anna is around, no need to let her get the wrong idea about the two of you".

Anna had discussed the Walmart situation with Mary and Mary seemed eager to bring the news to Rick, it looked like Mary enjoyed having more people around, she had talked alot with Maggie and Glenn and they seemed like a couple that would fit well with herself and Leo. Anna and Mary walked over to where Rick was seated with his son next to him "how you like the comics" Anna asked with a hint of a smile, while looking down at the little boy. The boy directed his eyes and met hers and his whole face cracked up to a hugh grin "it is awsome and thanks for the candybars, they are my favourite" Both Anna and Mary giggled at the boys comment and sat down opesite of them. Rick smiled at them too "Thank you so much for what you did for my boy, Anna" Anna repaid his smile and nodded "its my pleasure, by the way, i think we should gather a group and go back, the store was packed with supplies, it was untouched, its cleard, so its just for us to walk in get what we want and get out" Ricks smile grew bigger "yeah we will do that, Daryl, Maggie, Glenn and T-Dog are our best people for a run, ill run it by them" Anna nodded, satesfied with who was going, she didnt think she could have kept her head cool if she had to look at Carols lovestruck gazes at Daryl all the time. Just thinking about how they had hugged eachother when they had returned still made her stomach turn and give her a sour taste in her mouth. Anna walked over to her bed to prepare her gear, while Mary whent over to Lori to check up on her.

Everyone had gone through the plan, they where going to use two cars, this way they could bring back more supplies. Two teams with two different lists, Team one was Maggie, Glen, Mary and Leo. Team two was Anna, Daryl, T-Dog and Rick. Hershal, Lori, Carl and Carol where to stay put and guard the mall. Anna had objected at first, she did not get why she could not be teamed up with Mary and Leo, since they all knew how to move and what to do without all that talking, but Rick had said that they needed two work together and get to know eachother, so mixed group it was. This had both made Anna and Carol grumble out curses under their breaths, Carol didnt like one bit that Anna and Daryl was on the same team. As they geard up and walked out Carol grabed Daryls arm to stop him and threw her self around his neck, she pressed her body into his and kissed his cheek and whispered in her ear, everyone wide eyes, since this was a behaviour that was new to the whole group. "Dont worry, we will bring your boyfriend back in one piece" Anna spat as she passed them on her way out, Daryl cursed and shoved Carol away and stomped out after Anna. Rick cought up with him "What the hell are you doing? I thought you where gonna fix things with Anna, not make it worse" Daryl clenshed his jaw " it aint what it looks like" As they came out into the cold breeze, Anna snatched the keys from Rick "im driving" she said, this way she had to focus on the road and not scowl at Daryl. They all piled up in each car and not long after they where on the road, driving towards the WallMart. 

Anna carried her last bag outside and placed it in the trunk of the car, Mary came out and did the same, she smiled to Anna, she knew Anna was really struggenling so she walked over to her "how are you holding up?" she asked in her sweet and caring voice. Anna sighed, she couldnt hide her true feelings from Mary, she knew her too well "its so confusing, one minute i want to lash out on him, the next i wish nothing of it happened, and the carol woman is grinding her self up at him every secound she have the chanse, makes me sick" Mary hid her grin behind her hand and cleared her throat as Daryl and T-Dog came out of the store. "wer more or less done here" T- Dog stated as they both placed their stuff into the car, Daryl was just about to close the trunk of the car when he heard screams and suddenly everything whent dark.

Rick and Leo came running outside, they had heard the screams and dropped everything, Leo knew that Mary and Anna would not scream like that unless they really where in danger. Leo glanced over the parkinglot and a car speeding, their car speeding out of it and onto the highway. Rick was squatting next to T-Dog that was laying on the ground, he helped him up into a sitting position, Leo turned and could see that T-Dog had a nasty gach at the side of his head, he walked over "what happened, man? wheres Mary, Anna and Daryl?" Maggie and Glenn came out and joined them "wheres the other car?" Maggie questioned and looked at theire wounded friend on the ground. "I-I dont know what happened, a group of guys snuk up behind us, they knocked me and Daryl in the head and draged the girls into the car, i think they shoved Daryl into the trunk and then they took off." Rick stood up as T-Dog continued " they said it was payback for Randall" Rick placed his left hand on the hip, the other he rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath, Leo heard Maggie gasp and turned to Rick " Who the fuck is Randall and why the fuck is my wife and beste friend missing?" Glenn saw the terror in Ricks eyes and stepped up to Leo " We had an incedent back while we where at Hershals farm, an argument among our group that led to Hershal disapearing, me and Rick found him at a local bar, trying to drown his sorrows in a bottle of jack. Two guys came into the bar, these two looked like trouble, they said they where with a large group and that they where looking for a safe place. We all knew that the two was bad news." Glenn paused, Leo waited as glenn took a deep breath and continued " we killed the two men, and as we where about to leave their friends came looking for them, shit really hit the fan in that town, we managed to get out of the bar, we where actually saved by a herd of walkers. But a boy from their group had impaled himself to a metal fence and was left behind, he was screaming for us to help him" Glenn rubbed his neck and Rick continued " i couldnt just leave him there to be eaten alive, so we blindfolded him and brought him back to the farm with us. Hershal fixed his leg up, and Daryl interegated him, we found out that he was with a large group of men, they where the kind of guys you dont fuck around with. We voted on what to do with the boy and desided to blindfold him and drive him out somewhere and leave him, give him a chanse on his own, but as me and my former deputy Shane drove him out to the local highschool we found out that he knew what farm we where staying out and we couldnt risk him running off telling his buddies. We had woman and kids to protect. We brought him back to the farm, and we where to execute him, but Shane snuk out and draged Randall out into the woods and snaped his neck. " Leo pulled his hands through his hair "so your telling me that becouse of some shit that happened a while ago with your group, my wife and best friend is now kidnaped and have to pay the price for it?" Rick met Leos frustrated and terrefied eyes "now calm down, we are gonna find them and get them out." Leo scofft "how the two best trackers in the fucking group is in that fucking car" T- Dog steped up, he was holding a rag to his head to stop the bleeding " well we know what the car looks like, we go back tell the others what happend, gear up and go looking" Maggie and Glenn was already moving towards the car, Maggie slid in to the drivers seat "what yall waiting for, come on, lets go" she shouted at the other three.

Daryl was draged out of the trunk, his head was pounding, they pulled him into a warehouse and tied him to a chair, Daryl was struggeling hard against the ropes but it only caused them to tighten the ropes and throw a few punches, his right cheekbone and eye felt like it was about to explode, he looked around, where the hell was Anna and Mary, his questions was soon answered when two guys came into the warehouse, dragging the two kicking girls in, Daryl could see they where tied up and gagged. They where forced down onto two chairs and he saw how Anna kicked one of the guys in the leg, the guy cursed and smacked her so hard that her head flung back. This made Daryl see red and he growled through his gagg and fought like an animal against the restrains. "oooo lockie here" another group of men had just joined them and one was walking up to them, he looked like a biker, he was balled but his beard was braided into two braids, one on each side." I think we just found this guys weaknes" he bent down so that he was lined up with Daryls face " is this your girl right here?" he pointed at Anna. Daryl just glared at him. He pulled down Daryls gagg to make it easier for Daryl to talk. He walked over to Anna and slid his pointer across her face, over her bottom lip, her jaw and down inbetween her breasts, he looked over at Daryl and saw Daryl was tugging on the ropes frantickly "dont touchˋ er" he shouted and this made the guys burst into laughter "and what are you gonna do to stop us?" Daryl continued to glare up at them "im gonna kill ya" he growled. The men laughed rawly " oh is that so? " the man questioned and balled his fist up into Annas hair and jolted her head back "arent she a pretty little thing, they both are, we really got us a nice treat here tonight guys" he turned his attention back at Daryl "and you, you are gonna watch as we enjoy our little midnight snack" Daryl looked at Anna and Mary, Annas eyes was wide with terror, but he could see the glimps of hatered in them, Marys eyes was tearing over. The guy walked over and pulled Daryls gagg back up. He turned to his friends "strip them down" he said coldly, Anna and Mary started kicking and screaming as their clothes was torn off of them. The man that was clearly their leader walked back to Daryl. "Your probably wondering who we are and why we took you. You see we have followed you guys a while now, Waiting for you all to separate into smaller groups. A while back your group killed three of my men. You guys shot two of my guys in a bar and then you kidnaped a young boy. So that is why you three are here, an eye for an eye. Thats how the new world works right?" He grinned. "But see we wanna have some fun with you all first, the guys have gone a while without a womans gentle touch, so i think they deserve alittle taste tonight." The man whent over and stood between Anna and Mary, two guys where holding them up as they where stripped down to their underwear, the man kept rubbing their arms "mmm " he said "such soft skin" then he grinned and looked at Daryl, who where now bleeding from his wrists for tugging on the restrains, "the girls in your group really know how to take care of them selfs, and look" he wrapped his hands around their waists and pulled them closer to his sides " they are being fed properly, they have alittle meat on their bown, not like the last skanks we had here, they where just skin and bown" Mary whimpered and started crying. The man turned towards Mary "no no no honey, no need to cry, this will be fun, this is the reason of your excistence"

Rick, Leo and the others ran up to an old abandond warehouse, they had cought a glimps of their green army truck from the road, though it was hard to see, since it was hidden, as Glenn had seen it, they thought it was best to park their car on the road and go look. They kept them selfs close to the walls of the building and they ducked under any windows, they had devided themselfs into two groups so that they could scan the erea quicker. Leo ran over to the truck and looked at it, it was theirs, he nodded to Rick and they continued to the back to look for a way inside. Luckely it was about to get dark, so they could easely take cover in the shadows.   
They silently ran and hid behind a big green dumpster, they could hear two guys talking behind it "Fucking hell, its so fucking unfair, here we have to stand guard while the others are having an awsome time" one of them said, Leo peeked around the corner at the dumpster, the two where standing there smoking, they had their rifle slung over their sholder, he turned to Rick "I can easly take them out from here" he said and Rick nodded. Leo crept into position and looked threw the scope of his rifle, he lined the man standing towards him up and slowly squeezed the trigger and shot the man straight between his eyes, the other man jumped and threw himself around fumbeling with the rifle over his sholder, Leo had already the man lined up and pressed his pointer gently on the trigger, he watched with a grin as the man droped to the ground. Ric turned and waved for Carol to run over at them, she was standing guard at the corner of the building, where they had run from. When she had heard that Daryl had been captured by Randalls group, it was no stopping her from comming. Rick had agreed since he knew that Carol had turned into an excellent shot, she could handle small handguns like no other. They ran over and pulled on the metall doors, they creeked open and they peeked inside, they could not hear or see anything, and they slowly snuk inside, they came into a dark damp and dusty hall, Leo pulled his jacket up over his nose so he would not breath in the dust and sneeze, Rick and Carol mimicked him and they continued down the hall, suddenly a door creeked open and three figures crept inside, they all where aiming their guns at eachother, but soon realized that it was their own people. Leo signalized to keep moving and they moved quickly to the end of the hall and stoped infront of two large metal doors. They pressed their ear against the cold metal, but could not hear much. Leo moved his hand over to the handle and looked back to see if the group was ready to spring into action, they where more then ready. The deadly glimps in their eyes surprised and pleased Leo, he slowly pushed down the handle.


	11. one step towards forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna, Mary and Daryl is captured by a group of men. Can Leo and Rick get to them in time before something happens to them? Will Anna see that they might need Ricks group just as much as they need them?

Leo pushed slowly on the handle and swiftly pushed the door open and they all ran inside with their guns raised and ready to fire. The sight that met him made him sick to his stomach, Daryl was beaten bloody and tied to a chair, his eyes where wide and furious, there where about 12 men in the hugh dark room, one empty chair and one chair with a man sitting with his wife naked on his lap, the man had a tight grip on Marys hair and her head was pulled back while his other hand was clutched over her left breast, he could hear her whimpering. This made the blood inside of him boil and he opened fire, the others followed his excample, some grabed for their guns and they managed to fire a couple of shots before they dropped dead or wounded to the ground, Rick ran over and pressed his python to the man that was holding Mary on his lap, head. "Let go of her" he snarled, the man raised his hands up in the air and Mary scrambled to her feet and ran into Leos arms, she cried so hard her whole body was shaking, one last bang rang out into the empty space and the man sitting on the chair flopped down on the floor. Carol was squatted behind Daryls chair, working on cutting the bloody ropes that held his hands tied together, as soon as his hands was free he cut the ropes on his legs and got up. Rick walked over to Daryl and looked at him "are you ok?" Daryl just nodded "They hauled Anna to another room. Get Mary out of here, im gonna go find Anna" Carol steped infront of him "oh i was so worried, we need to go now, Glenn and T-Dog can find Anna, and bring her back. We need to get you to Hershal right away" She clung to his arm, but Daryl shook her off, he sent Rick a pleeding look, and Rick got the hint "im right behind you, the rest of you, make sure Mary is brought back to the car, and that the exit is safe for Anna", the other nodded and ran towards the door. Daryl was already out the door and ran down the hall, he heard a comotion comming from a room to his left, and he pushed at the door, he busted through the door, ready to fight. 

Annas hands where tied at her back, the guy who had draged her into the other room pushed her violently down on the ground, he phanted hungrily over her and she could feel his hot breath on her bare neck, he had cut her bra off and she heard the fabric in her panties ripp, she wiggled all she could, she felt his hard bulge press up against her ass. Anna swallowed and tried to keep her panic at bay. "keep fighting darlin, it turns me on even more" That made her stop and she squeezed her eyes shut, she had to try something els, god she hoped she could be convincing enough, She turned her head "oh sugar, its been so long since ive been with a man, my body aches badly for your touch, please, turn me around so i can look at your handsome face while you give it to me good and hard" she tried her best to hide the urge of puking, her voice hoars and she really hoped he would fall for it. The man snickered and turned her over to her back "your gonna get it darlin" he said and lais his hands over her breasts and pinched her nipples painfully hard, a whimper escaped her lips, it turned him on even more. "you like that dont you?" he leaned down and licked her neck, she couldnt take this anylonger, she lifted her knee up as hard as she could, she didnt quite hit the spot, and he smacked her across the cheek, the pain exploded in her face and she inhaled sharply, she kicked again and this time she managed to push him off of her and he sunk to his knees, she staggered to her feet and kicked his jaw and his head fell back and he fell to the floor, she stood over him and kicked him over and over, hitting him in the gut and face. The door flew open and Daryl ran inside, he aimed his gun at the mans head and fired. Anna just stood there phanting, blocking out any sound. She started shaking, the adrenaline was leaving her body and she sunk to her knees on the floor. Daryl was over at her side in a secound and cut her hands free, he draged her up on her feet "Can ya walk?" Anna just nodded, she took a step to the side, not comfortable having anyone touch her right after what just happend. Daryl shruged off his jacket and laid it over her bare sholders, she slid her arms into the jacket, it was to big for her, but it was warm and comforting and it smelled of him, somehow it gave her the streangth to get out of the warehouse and over to the car where everyone was waiting, she slid into the seat in the back, Daryl climed in next to her, he tried to talk with her, but she just turned her head and looked out into the darkness, blocking out everyone in the car.

The girls was laying in bed and Hershal was checking them out, the guys was sitting in the livingroom erea, talking quietly to not disturb the girls.Hershal had finished up with Anna last and walked over to Daryl to take a look at his busted lip. "What happend in there?" Rick asked, they had tried to get the girls to talk, but both of them kept their mouth shut. Daryl knew it wasnt his place to tell them what had happend, it was up to the girls, but he also knew that if Rick wanted to know something he would bitch about it until you caved. "Randall wasnt lying when he said that the woman wished they where dead being in this groups claws. They where punshed around like ragdolls and they had planed on passing them around to all the members, luckely yall came in and stoped it, atleast thats what i know about Mary, they only removed Anna couse she gave them hell, what yall saw was as far as it got with Mary, Anna i dont know and she wount say i recon." Rick nodded and turned to Hershal "did they let you examine them? " Hershal nodded "Any serious wounds?" Hershal shook his head "nothing that needed stitches, only bruised up, they will pull through, they are tough girls, and from Annas scar, i would say she have been through worse" they all looked at Leo, he just nodded and continued to stare over at his wife laying compleatly still on the bed, he was so thankful to hear that he had come in time to stop everything. If only he could have captured them and tortured them for what they had put her through. He looked over at Daryl, he could sence that his friend was thinking the exact same thing. The group sat in silence before Rick broke it " I know you have alot on your mind Leo, but the unsertainty is killing my groups spirit. Will you let us stay?" Daryl scofft, he could not belive the nerves of his new friend, havent they just been through hell, this could deffently wait another day. "cant ya see he have enough on his mind right now? " he grunted. Rick looked back at Daryl and got up to his feet and walked over to his sons sleeping form. Daryl looked back at Leo "ill make it easy for ya, ill be on my way tomorrow, just let Rick and the rest stay with ya, i know im the problem" Leo talked in a flat voice "no one is any good on their own Daryl.... ill talk with her tomorrow. After this she will see that its safety in numbers" Daryl didnt really think that would work so he whent over to his bed and packed up his stuff so he was ready to leave if shit didnt work out.

Early next morning Daryl sat on his bed contemplaiting if he should just leave and save them all the hastle of convincing Anna or if he should allow him self to hope that Anna had it in her to forgive him and let him stay. His bags was neatly packed and pushed under his bed, he was about to pull them out when someone cleard their throat infront of him he looked up and met Annas steal gray eyes, they looked kinda dead, no emotions could be read in them, this made Daryl sad, he had always loved her sparkeling eyes. " Leo and Rick wants us on patrole duty, we leave in five" Since her uniform was left back at the warehouse, she had now been forced to use regular clothes, she had a pair of light blue skinny jeans on, a light greay sweater and a brown leather pilot jacket with white furr on. The clothes clung to her body and showed off her curves better then the juniform had done. Daryl nodded, he slid on his whitewinged leather jacket and grabed his bow, he slipped silently out of the store, most of the people was still asleep and he didnt want to wake up Carol and make a fuzz. It puzzled him how Carol was behaving, he had made sure to never lead her on, even when they found out that her daughter was a walker he had kept her at a distance. He skipped over the traps in the stares and made his way out in the brisk morning air. Anna had not come down yet so he waited. As she walked out five minutes after him he saw the surprise in her face when he stood there waiting for her. She did not say anything, so he just followed after her down the street. Rick had told him that after what had happend, him and Leo wanted to patrole the streets, to make sure the rest of the group did not come back for revenge, they wanted to be prepared. Daryl was alittle surprised that him and Anna was put on patrole together, but he figured that this was Ricks idea to force him to work out their issues, just like the run to WalMart, Daryl did not mind one bit, they had worked well together, he knew she had his back, and he wanted to make sure she was safe.   
He pressed back a yawn, he had hardly slept the night before, every time he closed his eyes the images of the men drooling over Annas naked body, like a pack of hungry wolfs flashed through his head, he had also been laying there listening to Marys sobs and Leo whispers to try to comfort her, he had been itching to go check on Anna and if how she was coping but he did not know how she would take it and he deffently did not want to make another scene infront of everyone. He looked over at her and saw how she was tugging at her jacket and sweater and he frowned "are ya alright?" she looked down herself and bit her lip "been over a year since i wore clothes like this, i just miss my uniform, feels like half my ass is hanging out, and i can hardly move in these" Daryl let his blue eyes scan over her body, he couldnt find anything wrong with what she was wearing, it suited her, his eyes landed on her round ass and his mouth got watery, he tore his eyes away and directed them forward, it was not his place to drool over her like some horndog. "i ment how are ya coping, ya know, with what happend yesterday, are ya alright?" He heard her sigh and looked back at her, her eyes was directed down at the ground "have to be..... right?" it killed him that he couldnt comfort her and tell her that she wherent alone, that she didnt have to suck it up like that. They had come to the middle of the street and they entered the building and made it up on the roof, where Anna had been standing when Daryl and Ricks group had met them the first day. From here they had a good wiev of the entire street and could easly spot any unwelcomed guests. Leo, Mary and Anna had used this roof before to guard the street, and three chairs was put out, they both grabed a chair and sat down. He could feel Annas eyes on him from time to time, it made him nervous and he started chewing on his thumb, his crossbow was resting on his lap, "what?" he finally said when the curiosity and the nerves got the best of him. Anna shruged " im just surprised that your girlfriend let you leave this morning, i mean they used you as a punchingbag yesterday, and its not really hard to miss looking at your face" Daryl felt the annoyance roll over him and he scowled at her before he looked back down on the street "it looks worse then it is, and i told ya before she aint my girlfriend!" his voice was low and gruffy and he could not hide the hint of anger he was feeling. Anna scofft "could have fooled me, she jumps on you every chanse she gets, it dosent seem like you mind it either" she spat, her voice was hard and alittle bitter. Daryl fumbled with his crossbow "i dont fancy ˋ er, shes not my type" he said, not knowing how els to put it to make Anna leave it. "oh yeah, thats right. the other one, Maggies little sister, whats her name again....? the one that sings every night, thats more your type, young, blond, cheerfull, dosent seem to have a care in the world. she drools over you too, ive seen it, although she hides it better then the grayhaird bitch, i bet she dreams of you running in and saving her every night" Anna laughed humorlessly at her own words, Daryl did not find it funny at all "ˋer name is Beth and stop this shit, it aint funny, shes practically a baby, im not like that" Anna raised her rifle and scanned the erea through the scope " you gotta take what you got these days, right?" Daryl leaned his head back and rubbed his hands over his face, he was really working hard on not blowing up into her face again, but she really knew how to push his buttons "what is it with ya and pairing me up with the chicks in my group?" Anna put her rifle down when nothing cought her attention "well got to release the tension somehow and cold showers are pretty hard to come by these days." her words made him cringe, he shuffled awkwardly in his chair "i dont fancy either of them" he really wished she could drop it. "why not? afraid they are gonna expect more from you then just a quick role in the hay?" Daryl jumped up from the chair and started pacing, he felt like a caged animal from all her questions, he wanted to yell that he only wanted her, but he knew he couldnt, he knew he blew the chanse to be with her that day he walked out on her. "just drop it Anna" he growled, she jumped out of her chair too, she had placed her rifle on the ground next to her chair and was now walking up to his face "why should i drop it Daryl, why cant you just answer my fucking questions. Why cant you just talk like a normal person?" he tried to walk away from her but she got right back into his face "couse when i do, ya throw it right back in ma face." he growled. His face had turned red, well except from the bruises, his fists was balled up, and took another step forward, their faces only inches apart, her eyes widened and fear was written in her face and she took two steps back, this shocked him, did she really think that he could do anything harm her, the rage that was riding him seeped out and was replaced with hurt and the never ending guilt. It hurt that she would think that he was capable of hitting a woman. "sorry" he grunted and shuffled his feet, he shoved his hands down his pockets to not frighten her. They both stood there in silence. A question kept lingering in the back of Daryls mind, he wanted, no he needed to know, but was afraid of the answer. He tried his hardest to bite his tongue and not blurt it out, but lost the fight "Anna....." he almost whispered. She did not rais her head to look at him, but he could see that she whiped her face in an annoyed motion, was she crying? she hadnt made a sound. " did the man, ya know, when he hauled ya into that room?" He had seen how she had put up a fight right infront of him when they had tried to touch her, that had cost her a couple of punshes, and they had draged her out and placed her in another room. When he had gotten to her she had been standing there naked and shaking, trying to cover her self up, the man laid on the floor with his pants unbuttoned, it was easy to draw a conclution on what had happend, but he needed to hear it from her. He could almost taste the bile in his mouth from thinking back on it. "no" she simply whispered. He let out the breath he didnt know he was holding, he was relieved. "why?" she whispered, and there it was again, her never ending wanting to know why. "it looked like he.... ya know" he couldnt bring him self to say it out loud, it made him sick "i dont want shit like that to happen to ya..... " he looked at her alittle embarrased that he had more or less blurted out that he cared about her, that her safety was so important to him. Hot tears ran down her face again, and she sniffled slightly, this made him spring into action and he closed the distance between them, and before he could think of what he was doing, he had wraped his arms around her and she had her face pressed into his chest. They stood there silently, her body shaking from her quiet sobbs and him stroking his hand comforting over her back, he couldnt resist the urge and kissed the top of her head, he breathed in the familular scent and closed his eyes, he could stand like this forever, it felt so good to have her back in his arms again. They heard a door creek and they both jumped alittle startled when Glenn and Maggie walked out, both knowingly smiled at them, not hiding that they knew that they had just walked in on something. A deep crimson red colored both of their faces. Anna swiftly walked over to her chair and grabed her gun and whiped her face, they really didnt see that she had been sobbing like a baby, they had seen enough as it was. Daryl quickly told Glenn that the street was quiet and then when Anna brushed passed them with her rifle over her sholder he quickly waved at them and ran after Anna. "hey wait up" he shouted after her. "that was embarasing" she just stated, he looked at her for a moment as they walked "Glenn and Maggie will keep their mouth shut" thinking she was afraid they where gonna tell the rest of the group what they had walked in on, not that it was bad, just an inocent hug, what was so wrong with that. "no i dont really care about them..... im supose to hate you Daryl.... " she stoped and stared up at him "but you make it so fucking difficult" he tried to take a step closer to her, but she put her hand up and stoped him. "your group can stay, you can stay, but i need time to figure this out" he just nodded as responce, but inside he felt a glimmer of hope. The rest of the way back they walked in silence, it did not bother him much, he was just happy about the fact that she had accepted him being around her. Maybe he could earn back her trust and they could atleast be friends again. He knew something more would be out of the question. That ship had sailed a long time ago, the damage was beond repair. They entered the furniture shop together, he felt more up to beat then he had done in years, but his good mood was quickly washed away when he felt two arms lock themself around his neck. Annoyance flared up in him and he quickly shoved Carol away "get off of me woman, are ya dence or somethin, get it into ya thick skull that im not into ya" he barked, making everyone stop dead in their tracks and look up at them. Carol took a step back to regain her balance and he could see her lip start to shiver as it sunk in what he had just shouted. She blinked and looked up at him and then back at Anna, who also was stunned from his sudden outburst. She quickly snaped out of it and ran out of their living arrangement.

Anna sat curled up in a big comfy chair, flipping through a magazine, her thoughts was chaotic and she wished she had Mary to talk to, but she knew Mary needed time to deal with her own thraumas. Thats what she had recuested from Daryl too afterall, time, so she had no other choise then to respect Marys needs. Someone sat down in the chair next to her, Anna glanzed up at the young blond girl who where giving her a soft smile "how are you doing" the young girl asked in a gentle and calming voice, "i will survive" Anna answered with alittlebit of a dismissive shrug. She deffently didnt feel the need to talk about long lost boybands and lipsticks now. "Have you and Daryl worked out your problems? Rick told us we could stay" Anna shruged again and pretended to be very interested in an artickle in the magazine " wer working on it" she said with a flat voice. Beth clearly didnt take the hint and leave her alone becouse she continued to chatter " Do you still have feelings for him?, he is very handsome and mysterious" Anna cleansed her jaw a minute, and felt a jealous sting, she looked up at the girl, who sat dreamingly looking at Daryl, where he was laying at his bed, rinsing one of his boltz "How old are you? 16-17? He is way to old for you, missy" she spat out, but it was answered with a light giggle "I know, i didnt mean it like that, im just saying i dont blame you if you do still have feelings for him. " Anna looked down into the magazine again. "what was he like when you two dated?"Anna gave up and sighed, she placed the magazine in her lap and she looked over at Daryl " he wasnt as buffed as he is now, his hair was lighter, almost blond, he spent most of the time outside, working on my fathers property. He was very shy and awkward around people, but once you got to know him he was funny, carying and kind. He always made me feel loved and special." Anna thought back and got alittle lost in her memories, she laughed slightly " even if there where alot of rumors going around town about how he was this womanizer, he was as unexperianced as me, but after we got over the clumbsyness and the awkwardness, we could hardly keep our hands off of eachother. We where almost glued together. I loved being in his arms, he made me feel so safe and protected. He might have had a hard time with saying it, but he showed me everyday how much he loved me" she had not talked about this in years, and she cought herself smiling a genuine smile. Beth grabed her hand and squeezed it "sounds like you still have feelings for him and that you miss him and what you two had. Maybe you should give him a chanse to make things right. Forgive and forget the past and get to know him, how he is now." Beth gave her another soft smile before she walked over and joined her sister and father. Anna sat there puzzled by Beths words, how could a teen be so wise and give advices like that, it was more something she had expected from her father and not her. Anna looked over at Daryl again, just as she looked at him, he glanzed over at her and met her eyes. She blushed and looked down into her lap. She felt restless, she threw the magazine on the table infront of her and got up. On her way out she bumped into her and she was about to apolegize but stoped when she met Carols glare " watch it bitch" she spat, Anna turned alittle surprised "excuse me? what did you say?" Carol scowled back at her "you heard me!", she said and continued over to her bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, i hope you enjoyed it so far. :) Please leave kudos or comments if you have the time :)


	12. Wine and spaghetti

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A month have passed and the group are getting used to staying together, Mary is slowly getting back to her old self with Leos love and support. Anna and Daryl are also getting closer, is it only friendly feelings between them or does the flame they ignited a long time ago still burning.

It was alittle over a month since they had joined groups, everyone had gotten used to eachother now, there where still some who wherent all that happy about how things turned out, but so far it was just gruff. Mary was slowly starting to get back to her old self and she and Anna had started talking again, this helped them both with getting through what happend that night. The two woman was sat outside of the mall where they gathered rainwater to wash themselfs. Leo stood guard around the corner, as Mary and Anna helped eachother cleaning up. "ugh" Mary sighed for the second time after getting soap in her eyes "i think i need to cut my hair, its impossible to manage this alone" Anna giggled and lifted up the bucket of cold water to rins out Marys hair. "you know how Leo is obsessed about your beautiful long hair, if you cut it the poor man will cry him self to sleep every night until it gorws back out" they both giggled "your right" Mary said as she squeezed the rest of the cold water out of her tresses before she balled it up in a towel. Now it was Annas turn "so how are things going between you and Carol?" Anna scofft "i dont know what that womans problem is, ive never done her wrong, and still she hates my guts" Anna giggled "yes ive noticed, she glares at you all the time, you would have turned into a walker a long time ago, if looks could kill" Mary handed Anna the shampoo and she began to massage the soap into her hair "exactly, i dont know why though" Mary lifted the half full bucket and poored the water over Annas head, Anna squeeled from the coldness " well the woman is in love with your man, thats why she hates your guts" Anna stoped drying her hair and scowled at Mary "stop saying that, hes not my man, just becouse ive accepted that he is here and that we have patrole duty together, dosent mean wer back together." It was Marys time to scofft " it might not be obvious to you two but it is to everyone els, he follows you around like a stray puppy, just like back when we where teens. And you send him longing looks everytime you dont think anyone els sees it. And yesterday you both ended up sitting together talking after patrole duty" Anna shurged "well he needs new boltz, we where thinking of checking out the sporting and hunting store tomorrow, see if there are any boltz there that will fit his bow" Mary raised her brow and looked at Anna " you know he is very much capable to go check for those boltz alone, he dont need you around for that, the man is just as skilled as we are. My point is that he wants you to go with him." Anna picked up their stuff and whistled to Leo that they where done and that it was safe for him to come and join his wife. Mary started laughing "you know next time we should ask Daryl to stand guard while you showered, i bet he would be too busy sneaking glanzes at you then to look for walkers" Anna shoved her sholder and rolled her eyes "Ha ha, very funny. Hes not into me like that anymore, we are just working on a friendship." Leo had heard their conversation "Mary, stop teasing Anna" he looked sternly down at his wife but in his eyes could be spotted a playfull glimps "shes way to stubborn to admit that she needs some Dixon love" they both blutrted out in laughter while Anna stomped in after them, cursing them both out.  
As they entered the second floor, they where pulled in by Maggie and Beth, both was smiling from ear to ear "oh good, there you three are, we have arranged a neat little dinner, to say thanks for letting us stay" Anna looked at Maggie "a dinner? for us? buut its weeks since we said you could stay" her eyebrow was raised as she looked at Maggie with curiosity "yes well we wanted to make sure you didnt change your mind." Leo and Mary snickered. They where led over to a small resturant, the tables was round, italian looking, with red and white table cloths, they had lit candles on all the tables and a bowl of spaghetti was placed on the counter, plates and plastic cups was set up next to it, bottles of red wine was placed out on each table. Everyone els in the group was already seated, but they raised their plastic cups as the five of them entered the resturants. Mary gasped and hugged Leos arm " this is so romantic" she breathed, Anna walked up next to them and said sarcasticly so that everyone heard "looks like we all should need to find other sleeping arrangements toninght, its babymaking time for these two" people laughed as the five of them sat down at the empty chairs, Anna not noticing where she sat down but a scruffy voice made it suddenly very clear who was sitting just across the table. "why dont we take the nights watch then?" he said and poored the red liquid into her cup, she rubbed her arms, noticing the goosbumps, bloody hell she thought why did this man have to have such a sexy voice, it was driving her insane. She took a large sip and smiled "might as well, not gonna get any sleep when these two starts" she said and nodded towards Leo and Mary, Daryl gave her a half smile and emptied his cup before he got up and whent over to the counter and grabed two plates, he placed one infront of her, she had removed the towel and was now brushing through her tresses with her fingers "thanks" she said and grabed a fork and started to shuffle the food around on her plate, suddenly nervous. Mary and Leos teasing was getting her . She should work harder on ignoring them "wheres Carol and T-Dog?" she asked when her eyes scanned over the people at the table "theyr on watch, theyll eat when Rick and Lori replace them" Daryl looked at her shuffeling the food "not hungry?" he said between mouthfulls. She shook her head " right, food, yes very hungry" she said and took a mouthfull, she chewed it slowly and swallowd "man, this shit dosent taste as good as i remember ya pastadish was. " Anna started coughing and she grabed her cup and gulped down the wine. She was surprised that Daryl still remember her saterday pasta dish that she used to make. "yeah been a while since i made that" she hadnt cooked anything since her parants died, when Leo moved in, he was the one that did all the cooking, and when he had married Mary, she did it. She grabed the wine bottle and filled up her cup again, she filled up Daryls cup too. Him bringing up that made her even more shakey, she really didnt want to be reminded of their past now, she was trying to forget it and learn to know him all over, just like Beth had suggested. Daryl shoved the last meatball on his plate into his mouth and she slid her plate over to him, she was to nervous to eat anything, and it looked like Daryl and his group had been low on food for months before they stumbled in to her town, Anna, Leo and Mary never had that problem, they had not lost any weight at all "here take mine, looks like you need it" Daryl looked at her, not really sure if he should take her food. "go ahead, you need it more then i do" she gave him alittle smile and he grabed the plate and shoved what was left on it into his mouth, when he was done he licked his fingers clean and sat back. He pulled a pack of ciggs out of his shirt pocket "wanna join me outside for one?" after spending the last month with her out on patrole he had gotten used to seeing her smoke, it had come as a shock first, she had thought it was a discusting habbit back when she was younger. Anna nodded and they both grabed their cups and walked out of the resturant. He lit up two ciggs and handed her one, They walked around inside the mall with their cup in their hands, they stoped and leaned on the railing. Daryl watched her closely, there where something about her today, she was kind of jumpy, a behaviour that he had not seen in her the last month. He put out his cigg and took a large gulp of his wine, he was starting to feel the alcohol spread and warm his stomach "ya alright?" She was just in the middle of a sip, she coughed again and whiped her mouth with the back of her hand and giggled slightly "mm yes, why do you ask?" she said and took another drink he shruged "just seem diffrent ˋs all" she flipped her hair back and emptied her cup. "i deffently need more of this" she waved the empty cup "alright ill just wait here" he said and she walked over to the resturant, she grabed another bottle and on the way out she met T-Dog, he smiled and she returned his smile "everything good out there?" she said and he nodded, "yeah all good, been looking forward to comming back all night though" Anna giggled, from the looks of it would not be anything left. He was a big man with a good and healthy apetite "you go on and eat, youve deserved it" she said as he petted her sholder as he walked into the resturant. She walked along the railing and when she lifted her gaze to where she had left Daryl she saw Carol standing there talking with him, her good mood suddenly turned souer. She braced her self and walked over, she met Carols scowel " you should get back and get something to eat before T-Dog eats it all" Carol just huffed and bumped into her sholder as she walked away, the impact was bigger then Anna had forseen and she had to take a step back and grab the railing to keep steady. "what the hell" she breathed but tried to ignore it, but it was really hard, she was really getting on her nerves. "what did she want?" she asked Daryl as they both slid down and sat with their backs against the railing. "asked if she could come when i was gonna look for more boltz tomorrow" Anna leaned her head back and cursed internally, she couldnt handle being out there with carol tagging along. "what you say?" Anna opened the bottle of wine and took a large gulp " told ˋer i could manage on ma own" a slight disapointment from his words made her take another sip "oh" was all she could squeek. He turned towards her and grabed the bottle from her "yeah figured that we could handle our own in an empty walker free street, dont need ˋer to watch our backs, right?" Anna beemed up and giggled, he turned to her and looked at her "whats funny?" she shook her head and leaned over him and grabed back the bottle "nothin mr. Dixon" she said laughing. He pulled the side of his lips up, and shoved her side with his elbow "no tell me" Anna took a deep breath, she was already feeling the effect from the wine. "its not risky enough to need Carols help, but its to risky to go alone so you asked me to come with you? and like you said, its an empty walker free street" she gulped down some more wine "i just want ya to come, i like havin ya by ma self" her heart started racing and that fluttery feeling was back in her stomach, she passed him the wine and he emptied the bottle in one larg gulp "dont worry, ill keep you safe tomorrow" she said and giggled, he huffed "playin a hardass again huh? remember ive seen ya runnin through the woods shit scared that a rabbit was gonna eat ya" she bursted out in laughter from the embarracing memory "can you blame me, i had never been out in the woods and you had been joking all day about bear attacks, and whos to say i wasnt faking being scared to boost your ego alittle.... " he snorted out a laugh "yeah right" she heard he had started to slurr at his words again and she was really in a giggeling mood too. She pointed at the two lovebirds that walked hand in hand on the other side and disaperad into the furniture store "so where to camp out tonight mr. Dixon?" he followed her pointer with his blue eyes and saw how Leo pulled Mary in for a deep kiss before they laid down on the bed "where did ya camp out whenever they wanted some time alone?" he asked with a slight blush over his cheekbone, she got up alittle unsteady and helped him up too "there is a store downstairs that sell curtains and beddings and stuff, theres a bed on display there, i used it the nights they needed some space" she still held on to his hand as she led the way down the stairs and over to the shop, luckely no one els had found it. She sat down on the bed and kicked off her shoes, Daryl walked over to the other side and grabed a pillow, she looked at him as he placed the pillow on the floor, she raised her brow "what you doing? arent you gonna sleep on the bed?" he scratched his head and pulled off his leather jacket "nah i can take the floor, ya can take the bed" she looked alittle confused "the bed is big enough for two, and if i remember correctly we where alot closer that night in the walmart " fuck! why had she just told him that she knew that she had been sleeping in his arms that night. A deep blush crept up her neck and cheeks, she felt his eyes burning into her "just sleep in the damn bed Daryl." She pulled down her pants and kicked it on the floor, she pulled her sweater over her head and it landed ontop of her pants, she had never cared about sleeping in her old uniform, but these skinnyjeans was to tight to sleep in, she crawled under the covers, she heard him throw the pillow back on the bed and she heard the rusteling from clothes, and knew he removed his boots and jeans. She felt the bed give as he sat down on it "are ya sure?" he asked in a low voice. She yawned, the wine made her careless "we have done alot more Daryl then just share a bed, yes im sure, just lay down, i will not feel guilty about your sore back tomorrow while on watch" she felt him lay down next to her, the big bed felt suddenly like it had shrinked, she could feel the heat radiating from his body. 

He laid there, very aware of who was laying next to him and she was practically naked, well except from the underwear and tshirt. But that was the closest he had been to a half naked woman in years, his body reacted in an instant, and he knew that this night would be full of torture. He took a deep breath, the smell of her newly washed hair was better then anything els he had ever smelled. Yes, deffenetly torture. "Daryl.... ?" she whispered, it was dark, thank heavens, he could feel her turn over to her side, facing him "yeah" he said, laying compleatly still, afraid to move a mucle couse then maybe she would come to her scenses and jump out of bed or throw him back onto the hard cold floor. "are sleeping?" he frowned out in the dark "if i was then i wouldnt be answering ya" he said and this made her go into a gigglefit. Man, she was more drunk than he thought. "ok, i want to ask you something" she continued to whisper, he didnt really know why she was whispering, there where no other people down at the first floor, no one would hear her, he waited, the curiosity was building up, what on earth did she want to know about him. "why did you keep calling me and hanging up?" he rested his arm over his eyes, if only there was a whole he could crawl into and save himself from this embarrasment. "was wasted, wanted to hear ya voice" he heard her soft breaths and thought she had fallen asleep then suddenly the covers they where sharing was yancked up and she was sitting up in bed towering over him with her covers tightly pushed across her chest, his eyes had gotten used to the dark by now so he could see the countours of her. "you called me after screwing some drunk skank to hear my voice?" he looked up at her "you really got some nerves, you know that!" she spat out, sounding furious. "what?" he asked, his brain to mushed from the alcohol to follow the turn this conversation just took. She took a deep breath to calm her self "you where out drinking with your brother, screwed some skank on a one nighter and then called me to hear my voice" she was exclamaiting every word, to make sure he got how angry she was. "no, it wasnt like that" he said, alittle shocked that she would think that of him. "then how was it?", he searched his mind to find the right words to not sound like a compleat pussy, he tried out a couple of sentances but they all made him sound like a compleat idiot. " picking up chicks at the bar is more Merles thing, i was alone" she scofft and laid down with her back towards him, he sighed " here we go again, why dont ya belive me?" she snorted angrily "couse i know how drunk guys are, hitting on everything that can crawl, i remember how you where, just a slight hint and you where building a tent" he could not be more happy about the darkness surounding them right now, just a few minutes ago she could have just pointed at him to prove her point right. He knew exactly what she was taling about thought, Merle used to pick up all kind of chicks at the bar, bring them home and then toss them out the next day, he was embarrased and alittle sad that she thought so lowly of him "i aint like that" he just whispered, the sheet was rusteling as she turned towards him again "im not making shit up Daryl, i remember how we where" this conversation was literarly killing him, making him hard from the memories of how they used to be together and her making him cringe from compareing him to a horndog that would screw everything that walked. "i ment i aint like the guys ya refering to" he placed his arm back on his forhead "look, i called ya to hear ya voice, to check that ya where alright, but i knew ya wouldnt pick up if ya knew it was me, why i kept my number hidden, i stoped when i thought ya had gotten married" Anna moved in closer to him, and he felt the need to growl out of frustration, her legs where now brushing up against his "are you telling me the truth?" she had started whispering again and he knew she had calmed down "what would i gain from lying to ya?" she sighed "i dont know" she laid her head on his sholder, he felt warm all over and his hands was itcing to pull her closer and wrap his arms around her. Could he do it, would it scare her away, he desided to go for it, he placed the arm he had resting over his head and placed it around her and pulled her closer, she moved willingly into his side and he was amazed of how good their bodys still fit together, he felt her arm snake over his stomach before it rested on his chest, he felt her relax into him and he knew she was about to fall asleep, he turned his head and placed a kiss on her forhead.

Leo skipped up the stairs, his face was turning red from the supressed laughter, he saw Mary had just got out of bed and was now making it, the others in the group was starting to wake up as well."hey sexy" he said and slaped her ass playfully, Mary turned around and tried to look offended, but could not hide her hugh grin as she leaned up on her toes and gave him a sweet kiss. He loved the sight of her in the morning, her brown hair all messy, her golden eyes still alittle glazed over by sleep, her skin a slight hint of pink, he knew she would be tired today becouse of the pretty steamy night they just had, and had desided to sneak out of bed without waking her, but as usual she woke up whenever she could not feel him near her,. "I will go get us some breakfast" she said and yawned, he snaked his arms around her waist, holding her in her spot "not until you hear what i just vitnesed" he said with a secretive grin, curiosity shone through her golden orbs "what is it?" she said. "Have you noticed some people are missing from their beds?" he asked, working hard to keep his laughter at bay. Mary scanned through the room "i dont know who you are reffering too. " She had noticed that Anna and Daryl wherent there, and Carol was gone too. Leo rolled his eyes "where is your best friend?" " he said pointing out the obvious. "shes on watch duty with Daryl" she said matter of factly, not really sure what he was getting at. "Yes she is deffently with Daryl, but they are sertainly not on watch duty" he said, Mary just looked up at him, blinking her big eyes "I found them in the bed downstairs, all tangled up in eachother, clothes all over the floor..... it looked like they had a busy night" Mary eyes widened in shock "nooooo, your joking!" she exclaimed. Leo just shook his head finally let his laughter loose. "Finally" she breathed. "looks like we have some favors to collect" he said kissing her again, Mary squeeled from happyness, not only that both Marggie, Glenn and T- Dog betting against them and now aperantly losing, but from the thought of Anna finally happy again, and having her love back. This was the best news in the world. Rick came over to them "good morning" he said, his eyes darting from Leo to Mary and then back to Leo " something exciting happend that i dont know about?" Mary nodded frantickly, smiling from ear to ear " I think Daryl and Anna hooked up last night" Leo said, wiggeling his brows, Ricks face cracked up into a big smile as well " who knew that a bottle of wine and some spaghetti would be the solution to their issues"


	13. Things arent always as they seem.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a night with to much wine and awkward confessions, Anna and Daryl wakes up tangled up in eachother, have they solved their issues, or will Annas insecurity ruin their fragile friendship? Are the group warming up to eachother or will there be more issues, what is the best way to handle it in a zombie apocalypse?

Mary pulled Rick to the side "Rick, its getting close to when Lori gives birth, since we do not exactly know how long she have been pregnant we need to be prepared, and she told me about how difficult Carls birth was. I need to go to a hospital to see if i can find what i need. I know its very risky, but as i said we need to be prepared for anything" Rick scratched his beard and nodded "Who do you need to go with you?" Mary had been thinking about this all morning, this was the perfect excuse to have alittle chat with Daryl. "I want mucles. Daryl and T-Dog, smaller group means we move around faster" Rick nodded " Leo will replace Daryl on guard duty then" Mary nodded " I will let them know and tell them to get ready" he said and turned. Mary smiled, happy that Rick so easly had agreed to her plan. She walked over to her bed, gathered what she needed and turned to Leo, her husband on the other hand might be a problem, he did not like when she was not by his side. " Im gonna go on a run to the hospital today, i need alot of stuff for Lori, Rick have agreed to send Daryl and T-Dog with me, you will be on guard duty with Anna" she said and leaned up and kissed him softly. Leo pulled back a second "Your not going anywhere without me babe" Mary gave him a stern look " Yes i am, you know im capable of handeling walkers. And you need to be here, Anna needs you here" Leo pulled her closer "I dont see why I cant go with you, T-Dog can stay with Anna on guard duty" Mary shook her head. "If T-Dog goes, i get the chanse to talk with Daryl, find out what hes up to, you have seen how he have been since he got here, it is not how he is, he used to blow up every other second, i feel he is a ticking time bomb, and i need to find out why he is holding shit back" Leo thought about it and nodded, he didnt like this idea, but knew that when Mary had gotten something in her head there where no chanse to stop her "I dont like this" He simply said. Mary smiled lovingly up at him "I know babe, but i will be back before sundown" Mary placed another quick kiss to his lips and pulled out of his arms and headed down to the firstfloor. Leo watched her as she walked away, her hips swaying for every step. God that woman drove him insane. Daryl came in and he saw him and Rick talking, he saw how Daryl nodded and walked over to them. "Daryl, you better not let anything happen to Mary while your all out there or..... " he did not feel the need to finish his threat, he could see in Daryls eyes that he understood the unsaid words "Shes safe with me" Leo nodded.  
Wow, Mary thought as both Daryl and T-Dog jumped into the car, someone got up on the wrong foot today, she studied Daryl, his face looked like a thunderstorm, she brushed it off and drove out from the parkinglot of the mall. It did not take them long until they had parked in the parkinglot of the hospital, Mary remembered the last time she had been here, the total mayham that had surounded them, a shiver whent down her spine, now it looked like a graveyard, she shook her head and jumped out of the car and joined the two men, she had her rifle slung over her sholder as she rounded the car "ya keep yer ass in the back, Mary. Promised Leo to keep ya safe" Daryl grunted, she rolled her eyes, but sucked it up, they really needed the equiptment. T-Dog looked over his sholder " what floor is the stuff you need?" Mary pointed to the firestairs outside the building "its just on the second floor, we can use that to get up and maybe break a window or something and climb in. The place is probably packed with walkers" T-Dog nodded and gave her a quick smile. They walked over to the stairs and started climbing, Daryl first, Mary in the middle and T-Dog last. It didnt take them long to reach the floor they needed to enter, Daryl looked inside a window, only two walkers. "Ya ready?" he said to T-Dog as T-Dog moved over to his side. T-Dog broke the glass, the sound attrackted the walker who shuffled over to the window, Daryl took out one with one of his boltz, while T-Dog shoved his knife into the others temple. Daryl climbed in the window first and grabed Marys hand and helped her inside. "Right, we are now at the end of the hall" she said, " we need to get to the other end to find what i need for Loris delivery" Both men nodded. Daryl slowly opend the door slightly to get a look on what was waiting them out in the hall. The hall was surpriseingly empty, they all walked silently out of the room. Mary still walking inbetween the two men. A growl could be heard from the nurses station and Mary watched as Daryl quickly shot a bolt into the nurses head, she tried not to look at the walker, afraid she might recognize it as one of the people she used to work with, she kept her stare straight a head. As they reached the room Mary wanted to check, she tapped Daryls sholder and he nodded. "Watch the halls" he whispered to T-Dog, who nodded. Daryl swiftly whent into the room, Mary watched as he took down two walkers with his knife, he was surprisingly silent in his actions. T-Dog stood next to the door as she entered, the door closed behind her and they where alone "alright, what do ya need?" Mary walked over to the cabinets, to her relief it was stacked full with everything. "hold your bag open" she said and Daryl walked over to her, she started shoving differnt items into his bag. Mary didnt quite know how to start a conversation with Daryl, but she remembered from when they where teens, it was best to just head straight for the point with him. " hows things between you and Anna?" Daryl only grunted as response. "Come on Daryl, you can tell me, we used to be friends back in the day." she said looking up at him. Daryl just stared at her, his jaw clenched, his eyes cold and on guard. God, this man is wound up tight she thought. "look, Daryl, im only asking becouse Anna is my best friend, im watching out for her, i dont want to see her hurt again, but there are always two sides to a story, and ive already heard hers" Daryls eyes softend slightly, but she could still see he was on edge. This sertainly didnt look like a man who had just won his girl back, Mary thought to her self. "I remember how you used to be at school, you blew up every fith second for some stupid shit, you where a hot head, you still where one when you and Anna got together, but she usually calmed you down easly, but now, the only reaction ive seen you have to everything was when you barked at Carol. Other then that you hardly say anything, and i see you are really struggeling to keep your temper in check at times..... whats the deal Daryl, seems to me like your walking around on eggschells, and we both know that cant last forever" Daryl had directed his eyes at the floor and was chewing on his thumb. Mary could see his walls where crumbeling slightly "im tryin to make shit right by Anna." Mary looked at Daryl, from what Leo had told her that morning, shit, as Daryl put it, was deffently right. "havent you guys kind of kissed and made up already? " she said cocking her brow. "Nah" he simply said and that made Mary take a better look at him. He looked tired, tormented. "But you guys fucked around last night right?" Daryl turned bright red and shook his head, and at that moment he looked so much like the insecure teen she used to know. She needed to get to the bottom of this, something was deffently not right here. "What really happend back then? I know what Anna told me, now i wanna hear your side of the story" she said as she walked over and grabed a portable moniture to check the babys heartrate and stuffed it down her own bag " i broke shit off with her couse she was gonna go off to some fancy college, she was prolly gonna meet a guy there who was better than me, so i cut her lose so she didnt have to feel tied down" Mary looked up, this was deffently not the version Anna had told her, knowing Daryl though, she understood his reasoning, Daryl as she had gotten to know was so insecure, how he even ended up with Anna in the first place was a puzzle "You know you ment everything to Anna, you two where a couple one would think would last forever. You two where so cought up in eachother. It is kind of sad that you couldnt see back then how much you ment to her, how important you where to her, if you could have seen that, you two would probably be together today." Mary paused her trail of thoughts for a second and inhaled as she whent through the desk infront of her " Have you told her now that it was becouse of your insecurity that you broke up with her?" Daryl sighed and shuffled his feet "ive tried too. when we spent the night at WalMart, but she didnt belive me, called me a lier. " This deffently did not surprise Mary, she knew Anna was stubborn as hell. "But what about last night?" Mary asked, she really knew she was pushing Daryls buttons now, she remembered how he disliked people sticking their nose in his buisnes "i didnt touch ˋer, nothin happend" he grunted. " im a creep in ˋer eyes, " It suddenly dawned on her, Daryl was trying to show Anna that what he said was true, by trying his hardest to be her friend, but he wanted more and she kept him on an arms leangth, and he was frustrated. God the patience this man had. It had been weeks already, and he was following her around everywhere. She walked over to him "I think someone needs to knock some sence into her head, whats done is done, nothing we can do to change that now, but your here now.... thats what counts right, your not gonna run off again?" She met his eyes and searched for the truth, he shook his head. "i only left town couse of Merle, he beat our father to death, said the cops where gonna haul our asses to jail, not belive us when we said it was selfdefence." He had never told Anna why he had suddenly left his home town back then. Mary blinked a couple of times "what? Daryl, what are you talking about?.... Will Dixon died in the carcrash that killed Annas parants, he was driving under the influence, he lost control over his care and colided with theirs." Mary breathed "It was all over the news, oh god, you and Merle had already left so you never got the message from the police" She could see how Daryl was struggeling with this news, he was grabing the counter that he was leaning on, his knuckles was white, his eyes was directed at the floor and he was taking short fast breaths. She placed her hand on his sholder "Im really sorry Daryl. " She steped away from him, giving him space, but he did not react, he kept it all bottled up. " We better leave" she said and he nodded.

Anna and Leo came back from their watch, Anna threw her things on her bed, she saw that Leo was already asking if Mary was back yet, his gear still on his back. Anna was worried too, but knew that all three of them was very skilled and could handle them selfs out there. She was gonna go over to the store where they kept their food and grab something for her and Leo when someone bumped into her "hey watch it" she said flatly, tired from sitting on a rooftop all morning, replaying the night before and that morning in her head over and over. She knew she had acted like a little brat this morning when she woke up, with Daryls arms wraped around her self, she had to admit to herself that it was the best feeling in the world, but she could not give into it, she knew what Daryl thought of her, they where just friends, and she couldnt let her self feel the way she felt, it would only destroy her. She had shoved at Daryls chest, to make him move away, then she jumped out of bed, got dressed and practically ran up to the second floor, to embarraced to face him. She turned and looked straight into Carols eyes, her blood started boiling when she met the hatred radiating from the womans eyes. "what the hell is your problem Carol" she shouted, she had tried for weeks now to ignore Carol, but now she was done "You are!" Carol spat. "What the hell have i ever done to you?" Anna where in no mood to walk away this time and neither was Carol from the look of it " your hurting him" Carol had raised her voice too, Anna blinked, what the hell, "my issues with Daryl is between me and him, it have nothin to do with you, so stay out of it" Anna did not foresee Carols punch, and it landed straight across her right eye and nose, this made Anna see red and she grabed Carols shirt and punched her back, hitting her nose and cheek, she then used her miletary training, and scooped Carols legs from below her, Carol landed on her back with a gasp, Anna was right over her, straddeling her waist, punching her in the face, through gritted teeth she snarled at the whimpering woman " keep your filthy hands off of him, and dont ever stick your stuck up nose in my buisness again!" , she felt someone yank her off of Carol, but Anna was not done with Carol yet and she fought the hands that was holding her tightly "Get your fucking hands off of me!" she yelled, "get ya hands off of ˋer" she heard someone snarl right next to her and she was droped and unsteady landed on her feet, she felt she was lifted up from the ground and out of sight from Carol once again, she continued to fight the grip around her, "hey man, i wasnt touching your girl, i was just keeping her from killing Carol" she heard more snarling and felt the muscles in the arms around her tence up. She looked up and met Daryls blue eyes, and she inhaled and exhaled a couple of times. "let me go, im good" she said and she felt slowly Daryls arms relax and lower her to the ground, she heard Beths soft voice comforting a whimpering Carol and she scofft and walked over to the stairs that was leading outside, she heard someone jog up next to her, she glanzed over and met Marys golden orbs "what the hell happened" Mary asked as they steped over the tripwire and skipped down the stairs. "Carol, she fucking punshed me, teached her not to get in my face again" Anna grunted as she pushed on the door leading out into the fresh afternoon air. "yeah figured that much" Mary stated " but was it really nessesary to beat the woman half to death?" Anna grabed a cigg and lit it "wanted to make sure she got it into her thick skull, she looks like a slow learner. " Mary rolled her eyes while she watch Anna pace alittle. "Anna calm down, take a couple of deep breath and sit down, i know your stressed, but this pacing dosent help" Anna glared over at Mary but did as her friend suggested. "If it bothers you so much, then why did you come out here." Mary sighed and slid down on the ground next to Anna. "I need to talk with you about something" Anna took a deep pull and looked at her "What?" Mary held Annas gaze "i want to talk with you about Daryl, you need to stop punishing him for shit that happend ten years ago. You need to give him a chance. " Annas jaw droped. Mary continued "The man is walking on eggshells around you, yeah i get it, you are hurting, but so is he." Anna flicked her ciggaretbut "then he shouldnt have played me" Mary sighed "Anna do you really belive he played you? or is it just something you tell yourself so it will be easier to push him away, i can see in your eyes that you have feelings for him still, but your scared you will lose him again. Anna im your best friend, i dont want to see you hurt, but you need to stop this shit. You are only hurting yourself keeping this up" Anna glared at Mary. Why was Mary suddenly siding up with Daryl. Was it true what he had told her the night before and at WalMart, she wanted to belive it, but that ment she had to forgive everything, and let him in. Was she ready to do that?, she didnt know. The girls sat in silence a while, not notecing the man who where listening to the two men listening to their conversation.  
Daryl turned towards Leo, he could read pitty in the mans eyes, he scoffded, what they heard didnt surprise him one bit, he was a no one, no one cared, hoping for her to belive him and forgive him was just a waste of time.... "im going hunting" he said and turned away and left.

Beth sat next to Carol and whiped away the blood that had drippled from her nose and busted lip "Carol" she softly said "you need to give him up, he dosent belong to you like that. He belongs to her. "But he is my friend, i care about him, you see how much pain he is in being around her all the time, i wanna take that away" Beth gave Carol a gentle smile "I know, but it is not for any of us to fix, they have to figure it out on their own. He might be your friend, but he is her soalmate, as she is his. You have to accept that, keeping them separate will only hurt them more. You remember how he was like when you all came to my dads farm, he have been in that kind of pain for years, but him being around her, makes him smile from time to time. Just let them be and they will soon enough figure it out." Carol knowing Beth was right, she nodded and smiled back at her. "But i dont have to like her" Carol exclamated. Beth giggled "She is very nice if you gave her a chanse, but you dont have to like her."

Daryl stomped blindlesly through the woods, he was so stupid, Anna didnt care about him, her letting him hold her last night was only couse of the alcohol. It wasnt real, she hated him, he would never be good enough for her. He stoped as he let his eyes glanz over his surroundings, he was outside his old house. He swallowd hard but walked up the three stairs and pushed on the door, it creeked open and he held his bow up, slwoly making his way inside, everything was just as the day him and Merle left, he walked down the hall and stoped and looked inside the open door that used to be his room. He looked down at the floor, saw the dark stained that was etzed into the carpet. He walked over to his bed and sat down, he rubbed his fingers over his lips as he studied the room, his dads belt was thrown on the floor next to the dark spot, clothes and car parts scattered all over, empty soda cans was placed up on the desk, the sun shone through the window and he could see the dust twirling through the air. He turned his head and saw a note on his pillow. He grabed it and let his eyes run over the words, it was from Leo, he must have been here right after the accident. He pushed the note down his pocket and walked out of the house, this was the last time he would ever return to this place, the door slammed behind him, almost like underlining the point that this was now a closed chapter in his life. He continued to walk through the forrest a while, before he turned and headed the only place he could find any comfort now, he needed to see something that reminded him of the two people who had ever cared about him. He broke through the thick vegetation and walked up the dirtroad that led to Annas parants house. Every time he had drove up this dirtroad he had felt lighthearted and apresiated. He steped up and tried the door, it was locked, offcourse it would be locked, these people actually cared, not like his toxic family who never gave shit about anything. He looked inside one of the windows, the house looked empty, he grabed his bow and smashed it into the window and saw it broke. He took of his leather jacket and placed it on the windowsill so he wouldnt cut him self on the broken glass, he climed over and grabed his jacket and shook it before he sliped it back on, he was standing in the livingroom. He walked over to a cabinet holding books, pictureframes and small nicknacks. He grabed a picture and looked at it, it was a picture of Anna and her parants, must have been taken right after they came to georgia. He pulled the picture out of the frame and placed it in his pocket. He then walked up the stairs, he looked into every room and stoped as he reached Annas old bedroom. It looked alot different now, all her schoolbooks and stuff you could find at a teenage girls room was gone, it was now replaced with army gear. It was not as neat and tidy that he remembered her room to be, clothes was now scattered on the floor, her wardrobe was open, tshirts hanging from the shelfs, he walked over to her bed and sat down on it, laid down and pulled up the photo he had taken and looked at it, it didnt take long before his eyes started tearing up, he burried his face into the pillow on the bed, all the frustration, the sorrow, the pain ripped through his body, he couldnt keep it in anymore, he sobbed quietly into the pillow, letting the fabric soak up his tears.

Where the fuck is Daryl?" Mary whisper shouted to Leo as they stood on the rooftop on guard duty "Everyones going crazy looking for him, he just vanished again" Leo rubbed his neck and looked down at his wife "he heard what you guys talked about, he took off after" Mary blinked and bit her lip, she didnt know anyone had listened in on her private conversation with Annna. " Do you know where he whent? Did he say anything?" Leo leaned his head at the back of his chair, accepting Ricks group had turned his life into a never ending drama show, it was slowly getting on his nerves, one problem after another. Things had been so peaceful and quiet with just the three of them, they had their rutines, and they where more or less happy with it. He pinched the bridge of his nose "he said he was gonna go hunting, my guess is he needed some air, needed to digest stuff alone.... he was probably confused, one minute she is all tangled up in his arms, and the next she says straight out that she hates his guts. That can really fuck with a guys mind, you know" Mary nodded "he told me at the hospital that the only reason he broke it off with her in the firstplace was couse he was insecure, he didnt think he was good enough for her, and that she would find someone better in college." Leo sighed "yeah that sounds like the Daryl i used to know. " Mary grabed his arm "you know, i dont think he knew that it was Will who caused the accident. He told me him and Merle had been in a fight with their dad and that Merle beat him up or something, they thought they had killed him, and hiding from the police they left town. They where long gone before the accident" Leo nodded " And that would explain why Daryl never showed up, he never saw my note i left him. If he did, then i dont think ten wild horses would keep him from checking on Anna. " It was getting dark and T-Dog and Carol came up and replaced them, Mary looked over at Carols beaten face, the woman didnt meet her eyes so she thought it was best to leave her be for now. Leo walked over to T-Dog "any sign of him?" he asked quietly, T-Dog just shook his head and Leo and Mary started heading back to the Mall. As they rounded the corner they saw Daryl grab for the back door "Hey man, where have you been?" Leo said jogging over to him. "nowhere" he answered flatly, his voice more gruffy then it usually was, Leo knew it was best to just leave the man alone and not push him any further. They simply followed him up the stairs and watched as he whent over to his bed, grabed his stuff and left the store, as he was walking out Anna ran up to him, he watched how she grabed his arm "hey where have you been? people have been shit scared that something happened to you" she heard her say, her voice worried and angry. "Mind ya own damn buisnes" Daryl growled. Leo was about to walk over, he knew this would not end well, but before he could get there and stop Anna she heard her bark "What the fuck is your problem?, you just take off without telling anyone where you going" He saw how Daryl shruged her off and steped into her face, the anger and the frustration radiating from his tence body "What do ya want from me woman? Just leave me the fuck alone" He saw Anna step back alittle and Daryl brush passed her. Leo walked over to Anna "are you ok?" he said, looking at her, the shock was still written in her face. Anna just nodded and continue to stare after Daryl as he ran down the stairs to the first floor.


	14. Watched

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are becomming strained between some of the members in the group, what will happen when they are being forced to rely on eachother to survive?

Things had been quiet for the last couple of months, the weather was getting warmer and the group was spending more time outside, Lori had with Mary and Hershals help given birth to a healthy baby girl.Things where still strained between four of the people in the group, Rick and Lori had fallen out on the road before they joined Leo, Mary and Anna, and their relationship had not gotten any better after Judith was born. Lori had confessed that she was in love with Shane and blamed Rick for Shanes death, that had killed Ricks spirit. Anna and Daryl where still not talking, Daryl had shut everyone out and that only proved to Anna that she had been right about him, he didnt really care afterall. At first the people in the group had tried to talk to both of them, tried to convince them that they where wrong about oneanother, but both to stubborn to look beond their own pain and missery. Everyone had been to cought up in their own groups drama to notice the people surounding the sleepy town and had been watching their every move for the past couple of weeks.   
Two men krept slowly back into the bushes at the forrest surounding the town and met up with the rest of it "are they still keeping to the rutine we have mapped out? " A man dressed in gray pants and a well worn what used to be a white shirt asked, he had a scruffy face and a ragged looking scar that ran down from his forhead and over his right eye and down his cheek. The two men who had just joined them nodded, one of them with an mexican accent responded "yeah two are on watch, being replaced every fourth houer, lots of woman. pretty ones too. " The other man who where more scrawny looking grinned "looks like they are holding up pretty good in that mall too, looks like they have a lot of food." Theire leader with the scar looked at them both and nodded, pleased with theire news "since they are armed i think we smoke them out, open fire on them as they start to poor out of the building, in the chaos the rest of the group go in and take it. " The men and woman surounding them nodded with a predetory grin on their face. He turned and was about to walk back to their little makeshift camp when he looked over his sholder " i want the brown haired skinny bitch to my self. The rest you kill. " He had been watching her whenever she left the mall, she had long legs and long brown hair, just how he liked it. He had been wanting her since the first time he saw her.

Anna sat next to Daryl eating her canned tomato beans, they had just gotten back from their watch, she glanzed at him from her side vision, why the fuck had she pushed him away, why had she been such a bitch, she had tried over and over to find the right way to apolegize to him, she missed talking with him, their jokes, just sitting with him in silence was something she missed, now there was this hugh wall between them. "Daryl" she started but was cut off by him "save it" he grunted and finished his beans, he place the can on the table and licked his fingers, he grabed his bow and was about to leave. He had moved down to the first floor, wanting to be alone, she missed the time when she could glanze over at him while he was laying on his bed cleaning his boltz. Comotion could be heard from the doors to the stairs and everyone stoped what they where doing and looked over to where Glenn and Maggie entered dragging a limp body between the two of them "He colapsed in the street, he had three walkers on his tail, we killed them but he just colapsed" Maggie shouted and they pulled him over to what used to be Daryls bed, and Mary and Hershal started looking over his body for any bites and scratches. The man had light blond hair, he was tall, but very thin, it looked like he had gone months without anything to eat. He looked like he was in his early 30ˋs but you could never really tell these days, everyone looked older and more worn out from the new world. Daryl noticed how Anna studyed the man and he got furious "why tha hell yall bring him here for? dont we have enough shit goin on?" Glenn sighed and rubbed his neck "we couldnt just leave him to die in the street. besides he was alone. The man looked harmless" Daryl scoffed "yeah, ill tell ya that when he kills Maggie in ˋer sleep" He threw his hands up in the air and stomped out of the store. Anna looked at Daryl as he left the store, wanting so bad to run after him, she looked down on the man laying there, there where enough people who could watch him, they didnt need her right now, she thought as she ran out of the store and skipped down the stairs to the first floor where Daryl had moved in. "hey wait up" she shouted at his back. She saw how he tenced up before he threw himself down on the bed, not bothering to kick of his dusty boots. "what do ya want?" he grunted "i just wanted to say that i agree with you, i dont think it was very smart of them bringing him back, it can be dangerous, cant turst no one these days" she said, shuffeling her feet alittlebit. She didnt dare to meet Daryls cold stare. "yeah ive noticed" he grumbled, she took a couple of steps towards him " im so sorry for how ive been acting towards you" she whispered, but she knew he had heard her "shit girl, are ya drunk again? couse thats the only time ya have ever wanted to be around me " he spat as he locked eyes with her. "ok, i deserved that one" Anna sighed "now leave me the fuck alone, go back to that half dead guy, i know thats more yer thing now" Annas eyes widened, but then she remember her joke from when they where at the WalMart.

The man had been with them two days now, first day he had not been awake at all, they had watched him non stop, afraid he was gonna die on them and turn while they all slept, but he pulled through and woke up the next morning, he was given food and water, he thanked them for saving his life and told them that he had been on his own for a while now, not knowing exactly how long, since he didnt keep track of time anymore. Anna sat in a chair listening to the man talk, there where something about this man that gave her a nasty taste in her mouth, his eyes was a pale blue, and it felt like he stared right into your inner self, it was unerving. She had tried to tell Rick that she didnt trust the man, that he seemed too nice to be on his own for so long, that there where something off about him, but Rick just brushed her off, she had even tried to talk to Mary and Leo about it, but they too brushed her off, saying that she didnt trust anyone, so why should they listen to her. The only person she knew would listen to her was Daryl, he didnt trust anyone either. She desided to try and talk with him while they where on watch, they had switched with Maggie and Glenn so that they had the mid day watch. "Its your turn Anna" she heard a tiny voice say and she looked over at the brown haired kid sitting next to her, oh right, the card game she was playing with Carl, she snapped out of ther trail of thoughts and put down one card " looks like you gonna win again young man, if i had known you where this good i wouldnt have bet my last candybar" she said and gave him alittle grin, the boy pushed out his chest and clearly was proud of him self, she had pretended to be bad in the cardgame to make the kid think about something els then his parants constantly fighting. She saw Daryl enter the shop and nod his head to her to show he was ready for their watch, she put her cards on the table and ruffled Carls hair "ok kid, i need to go with Daryl now, ill see you when i get back, maybe i can have my rematch" she said and the kid laughed "yeah right, like you can beat me" he said with his eyes beeming up at her. This made her smile, she really liked Carl and enjoyed playing games or reading to him. She grabed her rifle on her way out and slung it over her sholder "ya not taking any food or water? " Daryl asked as she aproached him. "oh right, " she said and rolled her eyes to her self, her mind was all over the place, she would forget her self one of these days, she joged over to her bed and grabed her backpack that was already packed and threw it over her other sholder. "im ready" she said and Daryl just nodded and they walked over to the rooftop to replace Maggie and Glenn.  
They had been on watch for about an houer she recon when she glanzed over at Daryl, he was really making a big deal out of not talking with her. "I really dont trust the new guy" she said quietly, Daryl bursted out into a humorless laughter " aww, he didn wanna date ya and broke yer heart ?" he asked, his voice cold and dismissive. She stuck her tongue out to him "not funny Daryl, i mean it, i dont trust him, i think he is trouble, ive tried talking to Rick, Mary and Leo about it but they just brush me off." Daryl glanzed over her, he had a look she couldnt read in his eyes "sorry to say princess, thats what happens when ya bitch and moan about not trusting people, when they are tryin to make shit right.... " Anna sat and played with her hunters knife, not really paying attention at the street below them. "yeah your right, ok? i got it, ive been a royal bitch, i admit to it" she sighed " but can you just listen to me, there is something off about that guy" Daryl was looking over her sholder not payin attention to what she was saying "what the hell" he breathed when he saw smoking comming out of the back entrence, suddenly gunshots ripped through the air. Anna jumped up on her feet and had her rifle ready, she looked through the scope and saw a man crawling over to a parked car from behind a dumpster, she took aim and squeezed the trigger gently, she hit bulls eye and his body fell limp to the ground, Daryl had also grabed a rifle and was now scanning the erea, he saw a woman and aimed and shot her, she too fell limp to the ground. Suddenly bullets was flying across their heads and hitting the side of the building, they hunched down behind a chimny "we need to get out of here" Daryl grunted and Anna nodded, they grabed their stuff and crawled over to the door, they opened and ducked into the dark staircase, they listened to hear if there where anyone els in the building. They slowly made it down the stairs, just as Daryl steped down a man came barging in the front door, Daryl was quick to shoot one of his boltz into his head.They heard more gunshots as they came out onto the street, they snuck alongside the wall of the building and rounded and hid behind a dumpster. Anna felt a burning sensation and looked down at her leg, she hunched over to inspect the wound, luckely it was just a graze wound from a bullet. Daryl turned and looked at her as she hissed "ya hit?" he asked, his eyes wide, Anna tore some fabrick from her tshirt and wraped it around her calf "a bullet just grazed me, ill be alright, nothing serious." He bent down and pulled on the rag "Let me see" he said, his voice gave no room for any discussion and she exhaled "see, nothing to worry about" he looked up at her "can you walk on it?" She put some weight on the leg and nodded "We need to get ya out of here. Lets hide out in the woods, remember the place i took ya camping the first time? Its really not far from here" Annas eyes widened, it had felt like they had been walking for houers that day. She nodded, she limped alittle but she pushed the pain away, she knew that both of them would be dead if they stayed in town.

Daryl turned as he heard Anna slomp down to her knees, he walked over to her "ya alright?" he asked as he squatted down to look at her leg, the rag she wrapped around the wound was now soaked in blood. "yeah im fine, i just need to breath alittle" Daryl noticed that she was in pain and that she was tired, her skin was pale and driplets of sweat starting to form on her forhead. He grabed her arm and pulled her up "Its not far, we cant stop here" he said and placed his arm under her knees and swooped her up, she gasped and clung to his sholders. He looked down to her face and he could see her struggeling to keep her eyes open, her head tilted and leaned into his sholder "we have to go back and find the others" she whispered weakly. Daryl came to the clearing that they had camped out on their first date, and he found a rock and sat her down "Ill go back, ya try and get some rest, ya have yer rifle and knife, use it if ya need to, ill be right back" he said and she gave him a weak nod. She was half asleep as he walked back towards town. It didnt take him long to reach the outskirts of town now that he was on his own, he squatted down just where the treeline ended upon alittle hill, it gave him a good view over the mall and the streets around. He sw people he could not recognize running into the back entrance of the mall, the smoke had stoped, who where this people. He watched as the scrawny looking blond guy that had styed with them for two nights come out, he walked over to a man with grayish hair and stoped to talk. Daryl held his breath and focused to try to listen in on their conversation " Did you get her?" said the gray haird man, the blond one nodded "the others ran, think we managed to kill the blond bitch up on the roof, we saw the blood" The grayhaird man petted the blond mans back "did you find the body?" the blond man shook his head "she might have turned. To bad really, she seemed like a fighsty one, could have been fun to play with for a while." Daryl balled his fists up as he watched the two men laugh. They where talking about Anna. This made him furious. He turned and crawled back into the shadows of the forrest, he needed to get back to Anna and get her to safety. Their safeplace was now lost.   
When he reached the clearing he sat down next to Anna, he put his hand on her forhead to feel if she had any fever, but her skin was cool. She opened her eyes and looked at him "your back" she slurred, her eyes heavy from sleep, then she jolted awake "where are the others?" Daryl shook his head "didnt see any from our group, they are probably all scattered. Saw the bastards that drove us out though, the blond asshole was one of them" Anna gasped "I knew it, i knew he couldnt be trusted. Do you think everyone survived? " Daryl nodded "i heard them talking, the only one they thought was dead was ya" He pulled a water bottle out of his backpack and gulped down the water, he handed the bottle to Anna and saw her take a heavy swig from the bottle too before she handed it back."ya think yer able to walk?" She nodded, but as she got up she could not put much weight on the leg, Daryl slung her arm over his sholder and grabed her firmly around her waist and helped her limp through the forrest. "theres a cabin not far from this clearing, we can spend the night there, it havent been used since i was a kid" he said and Anna just nodded and smiled towards him. "talk about karma being a bitch, you getting stranded with me out of the entire group" she said and snorted. He was quiet, he noticed her glanzing up at him "i rather being stranded with yer ass, then Loris." This made Anna burst out laughing. "Daryl" she said again, wow talk about a 360 turn, now she was back to all chatty, from giving him the silent treatment the last month and a half. "yeah" he grunted, he was starting to get tired, his muscles where aching "i ment what i said back on the roof, i am truely sorry for being such a bitch, im sorry for the things ive said to you. Im just scared" He looked at her, was she feverish afterall? He nodded and pointed up ahead, "can ya see the brown little cabin up there?" Anna nodded and grinned. Finally they could get some much needed rest.

Leo had been sitting with Mary and feeding Judith when they could smell the smoke, Glenn came storming in, out of breath shouting that a fire had started down at the store with curtains, the same store Daryl had been staying in the last couple of months. Leo handed Judith over to Carol and told Mary to pack up some stuff for the baby, Rick also sprung into action and told everyone to get ready to evacuate if they couldnt get the fire under control. The fire had already spread to half of the store when they reached it, they grabed what they could of water buckets and poored it on the fire, but it wasnt enough. "We need to leave. Now!" Leo yelled at Rick, the man looked conflicted, Leo knew how much the safe place ment for Rick, but they would be cooked alive if they continued to try to put the fire out, they didnt have enough water. Leo ran up the stairs with the others on his heals and he saw that the woman of the group had already packed up their belongings and was ready to move out, Leo told Mary to go outside and get the cars ready, she nodded and was on her way, he looked over at Annas bed and saw her guns laying on her pillow, he grabed them and sliped one down Carols waistband, since she had baby Judith in her arms and the diaper bag slung over her sholder. He grabed her free hand and guided her out, Rick and Carl was infront of them. As they came out bullets where flying "stay behind me" he told Carol and lifted his semi automathic gun and started firering into the direction where the bullets came from. They made it over to one of the army trucks and he shoved Carol into the back with Judith. He looked frantickly around to see if he could see Mary or Anna, but they could not see anything, the smoke pooring out of the building was so thick. He pushed the car into gear and took off. He needed to get Carol and Judith out of town then he would go back and look for the others.

"we have to go back, dad?, what about mom, Judith" Carls pleeding was still ringing in Ricks ears. They had gotten out, they where alive, he could not think about anything els right now then that his boy was allive. It had been a close call, bullets had been flying as they threw themselfs into a car and took off. There where so much smoke when they had reached the cars, that he could not see the others. He looked over at Carl, he had been staring out of his window, his sobs had quiet down, but he could still see the tears on his cheek. The little boy turned his head and locked eyes with his father for a minute, before Rick looked back on the road infront of them. " Do you think mom and Judith made it out alright?" Rick gave him a quick smile "Offcourse they did, you know how much the rest of the group care about them, we are like a family. Mary and Leo, Anna, Daryl and Beth adores Judith, they would never let her come to harm, and your mother is a survivor just like us" He said. The little boy nodded, he looked like he was deep in his thoughts "Anna and Daryl wherent there. They where on watch, do you think they made it?" Rick nodded and gave him a reasuring smile " If someone came out alive from that town it would be Anna and Daryl, dont worry about it, son." But the kid didnt want to let it go "Anna and Beth are my friends, they play with me, they read to me, Anna always brings me something when she have been out on a run, i miss them" Rick sighed "I know you do, we will find them, if they are out there we will find them, but first we need to find a place where we can stay for a while" They came to a small neighbourhood about an houer driving outside of town, there where houses on each side of the street, it looked calm enough. Rick pulled up to the house by the end of the street "This looks like a nice house, what do you say, should we check it out?" The boy let his eyes run over the house and the front yard and nodded "Alright, grab your gun and stay behind me" Rick said as they jumped out of the car, they checked all the windows and tried the front door, it swung open and they walked in, it was quiet, they snuk around from room to room, the first floor looked empty "Im gonna check upstairs" the little boy said.

T-Dog, Glenn, Maggie, Beth and Hershal all scrambled in to one of the army trucks standing outside of the mall as the bullets where flying "Have anyone seen the others?" Glenn phanted as he sped out of the parking lot. "Daryl and Anna where on watch, so they probably got out when they heard the shooting, I thought i saw a glimps of Leo and Carol" Hershal said, looking back to what used to be their safe place, he could see the people running over the road towards the mall. Beth gasped "What about Carl and Judith?" Maggie just looked at her sister "we need to belive that someone got them out, if they are alive, we will find them" She said sternly, reaching over and squeezing Glenns hand. Thank god she had her family with her. She could only hope the rest made it out ok. "Where should we go now?" T-Dog asked, staring out into the forrest as they drove. "we will find someplace, then look for the others" Glenn said, not loosing hope that they will eventlualy be reunited with the rest of their family.

Mary stumbled out of the smoke and climbed the hill that led to the outskirts of the forrest surrounding her hometown, she coughed but tried to be as quiet as possible, she had ran over to the cars, but been stoped with all the bullets that where suddenly flying, she had turned and gone back, opened up the door to the mall, but the smoke came pooring out all around her, her eyes where burning, and she tried not to breath it in as she turned and stumbled blindly out into the parkinglot behind the mall. Mary dug her fingers down into the soft, cold soil in the ground and pulled herself up the hill, as she reached the top she pulled her rifle over sholder and slomped down onto the ground and gasped for clean fresh air. Pull your self up she internally shouted to herself and stumbled up on her wobbely feet and started to jog into the forrest. She didnt dare to look back, she slung her rifle back on her sholders and grabed the straps of her backpack. You are alive, the others must be alive, you will find them. Those three lines whent over and over in her head. As she had run, partially walked intot he forrest she stoped, looked back, listened, no one was following her, she was safe, for now.


	15. Scattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone have forced the group out of there safehaven, they are now scattered. How will they survive on their own, what will happen?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am truely sorry i have not posted in over a week, i hope my dear readers can forgive me, my work have been crazy busy, but i love writing this, so i sit down whenever i have the time. I want to point out that i do not own any of the characters from the walking dead show or the comics, i only own my own characters. I do not follow the shows story line, i make up my own story line. Becouse most of the walking dead fans have probably like me seen the show over and over and almost know it by heart, so i thought it could be fun to have our beloved characters experiance something new. Please write what you think about the story so far. Thank you.

Anna julted awake, she sat up and her gray eyes scanned her surroundings, where the hell was she, the room she was in was dark and dusty, it smelled like old smoke and wood, she was laying on a couch with a blanket wraped around her self. "Mornin princess" she heard a scruffy voice say, she could reqognize that voice anywhere, it eas Daryl, thank god she thought, atleast she wherent alone. Yesterday came crashing back into her memory, they had gotten out of the chaos, Daryl had brought her to a cabbin in the woods, they where safe, but what about the others, she looked around to see some other familular faces, but it was just the two of them. "Morning" she answered and streatched her sore joints. She remembered that Daryl had gone back, or was that just something she had dremt?. "You didnt find the rest of the group?" she whispered. He shook his head and moved over to her and sat next to her, his crossbow was leaning at the leg of the couch. "nah, but they are strong, they got out in time, prolly out on the road, well catch up with them as soon as ya leg is healed". Annna nodded, she pulled her leg up to inspect her bare calf, her pants was removed and the rag around her leg was changed with some clean bandages. He must have done that while she was out. " Have you slept at all?" she questioned and looked at him, he bit his thumb and nodded, only glanzing at her shortly. Her trail of thoughts was interupted by her stomach growling, shit she was hungry, she had not had much to eat the day before. Daryl walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a plate, he whiped it clean from dust and put some squirrel meat on it and handed it to her. Anna looked at the plate and then back up at Daryl as she placed the plate in her lap " when did you have the time to hunt?" Daryl shuffled his feet slightly and stuffed some squirrel meat in his own mouth, chewed quickly and swallowd."last night, boarded up the place, ya where out for houers, so i sat up some walker traps around here, shot a few squirrels " Anna nodded "i guess we have to eat alot of this from now on, we wherent exactly preperad for being chased out. its a damn shame, we had everything in that mall, could have lasted a whole year on those supplies" Daryl just nodded, they both sat in silence for a while. "Do you think the others are alive?" she whispered, she looked over at Daryl "like i said, theyr strong, they made it out alright...." Anna gave him a quick smile.

Quiet sobbs could be heard through the forrest, Leo sat up from his makeshift bed on the ground "Carol you need to stop this, youll atrackt every walker around here straight to us, and youll even wake her up with your sobbing" he said lowly and pointed at the sleeping baby next to him. Carol sniffled and whiped her cheeks "im sorry but we lost everything back there, the others are dead, wer all alone" Leo rolled his eyes, he had never had the patience with people who just threw in the towle and gave up. Their world had just gone to shit, but you couldnt just give up without a fight, it was just not him. "Look, its not the end of the world, your not alone... the others are alive, we have to belive that, it will keep us going until we find them. " Carol grabed a waterbotle and took a swig at it before she handed it to Leo "Easy for you to say, you have skills to make it out here, what do i know, i can cook and clean, not much help out here". This had puzzled Leo from time to time after Rick and Daryl had joined the group, all the men seemed more then capable to handle how the world was now, but the woman in the group, they seemed helpless. Why had not Daryl trained them, Leo and Anna had spent everyday from day one to train Mary into a skilled warrier, they never knew what could happen and he needed to know that his wife could survive on her own if they where split up. "ill train you, get you some backbone, gotta be prepared for anything now. " Carol stoped her fuzzing for a minute and looked at Leo. "You sound just like him" she whispered and Leos brown eyes met her light blues, he knew instantly who she was refering too. "Does that surprise you?" he asked her "we where afterall very close, me, Mary, Anna and Daryl, he was probably my only friend except from Mary and Anna. Me and Daryl was alot alike back then, both outcasts at school, still cant belive our luck, both of us hooking up with the prettiest girls at school" Leo joked and it made Carol chuckle slightly. He had never really talked much with Carol back at the mall, and he deffently didnt like how Carol seemed to dislike Anna so much, but he was stuck with her now and had to make the best out of it. "Was she good to him... you know, back when they where together?" the question kind of surprised him alittle, at first it had seemed like the woman was crushing on Daryl hard, but it did not seem like Daryl felt the same way about her, she had to be about 10 years older then them. He took a deep breath "yeah, Anna and her parants took care of Daryl, Annas father gave him a job, he where always at her house, he only whent home when he knew Merle or his father Will was at home. They never really fought or bickered like other couples tend to do" Carol nodded, "seems like they still have a thing for oneanother" she stated quietly and Leo looked at her "Do you have a thing for him aswell?" He knew the group had been betting on when Daryl and Carol would hook up, they had been betting on that ever since the farm. Carol looked at him with wide eyes "God no, i mean i love him, i care about him, he helped me look for my daughter, he helped me through it when we found out she was dead, he saved my life back at the farm, but i dont love him in a romantic way, he is more like my little brother, he is my family." she said, Carol could see that Leo wherent convinced. " At first, when Sophia ran off, i had just lost my husband, he was a violent jerk, but in a way i still loved him, afterall he gave me the most precious thing in the world, my little girl, i felt suddenly very alone and Daryl was always there, giving me hope, looking day and night for my little girl, he even gave me a flower, saying that it bloomed for my baby. Yes i must admit, back then i might have fallen for his kindness alittle, i thought he helped me becouse he might have felt the same about me, but when we found out that sophia was dead and had turned, he pulled away too, not only from me but the whole group. One night i snuk over to his camp and i overheard him talking in his sleep, crying out Annas name. He was in pain and i understood that it was just Daryl to be helpfull, nothing more. I accepted that and moved on. " Leo nodded and gave the woman a quick smile. "well im gonna help ya learn how to survive, your gonna be a badass when im done with you" he said with a grin and Carol whiped her cheeks again and giggled "Thank you"

Mary had walked all night, her legs where thrembeling from the strain, every muscle in her body where screaming for her to stop and rest, but she pushed on, she needed to find somewhere she could be safe, the last two walkers that had killed laid dead on the ground, her hunting knife sticking out of one of the courpses eyesocket, she bent over to pull it out but fell to her knees, she pulled out her knife, it took all her streangth to pull it out, it was really jamed good, she whiped it off on her pants and put it back into her stealth, she leaned back on her hands and breathed, she tried to get up but her legs gave and she colapsed ontop of one of the dead walkers. She closed her eyes for a second, it felt so good, her stomach growling, her throat dry and sore, she heard rusteling from the bushes, she didnt even bother to open her eyes. The sun that was peeking through the trees abow her where suddenly blocked out as a figure towered over her, she heard ratteling from chains, she opened up one eye and squinted up at the figure "if you wanna kill me, then please just do it quick" her voice horas, the figure that was towering over her bent down next to her, suddenly Mary felt a waterbottle being pushed to her lips, she gulped down the clear liquid "Im not gonna kill you" the figure said, it was a womans voice, Mary opened her eyes and sat up. She took another swig from the bottle and handed it back to the woman, "thank you" Mary whispered. "im Mary" the woman nodded and grabed the bottle and pulled it back into her duffle bag. "Michone" the woman answered. "I have a camp nearby in a wearhouse that you can rest up in" Mary nodded and with the womans help she got back up on her feet. The woman, Michone, led her through the clearing of the forrest, out and over a road and into a hugh parkinglot, a couple of buildings where placed out infront of them, it had to be the factory outside of her home town. Marys eyes scanned the erea and then looked backa t Michone, the woman had long dreads, her skin was dark, her clothes clung to her fit and slender body, she had a duffleback and a katana on her back, in her right hand she had two chains that held her two walkers in bay. She had explaind on their way over to the parkinglot that she used the walkers to disguise her own human smell from other walkers. Mary found the idea brilliant. Mary, Leo and Anna had used a simular disguise themselfs a couple of times to get out of a tightspot. The woman led her into a side door and over to a makeshift bed, where she droped her dufflebag and tied up the two walkers. Mary more or less colapsed down on the floor and sighed. "you are alone" she stated simply. Michone nodded and looked back at her with guarded eyes "so are you?" Mary shook her head "i wasnt. we had a large group, nice people, i had a husband, we where shacked up in the mall in town, another group came and took everything, chased us out with a fire. Now we are scattered all over, i dont know anyone els is alive, i sure hope so, we had kids in our group, my husband was in the group" Michone got a painful expression in her eyes " where it yours and your husbands kids?" Mary just shook her head "we dont have kids yet, we wanted to wait until we where sertain we where safe. It was our leader, Ricks kids. A little boy and a cute baby girl" she paused "i helped deliver the baby since im a dr. or was before shit hit the fan. I worked as a surgant at the local hospital" Michone nodded. She whent through her dufflebag and pulled out a candybar and gave it to Mary, who took it, she tore it in two and handed one half back to Michone with a smile. The woman seemed alittle surprised by Marys gesture and gave her a quick smile "Tell me about your group" she said as she took a bite from the soft chocolate.

Maggie, Glenn, T-Dog and Hershal leaned over the hood of the car and studyed the map in front of them. Glenn pointed to an erea on the map, "we havent checked here yet, i remember Leo telling me that there where a gated comunity being built there. I say we should check it out, it can be secure enough to use as base and start looking for the others" Maggie nodded "once it is secured, we can go around leaving clues for the others to guid them to us" Hershal gave his oldest daughter a smile "it will also lead the wrong people straight to our doorstep, just like the mall." he turned and looked over his sholder and eyed his youngest daughter, who was on look out " all clear Beth?" The young blond girl glanzed over at him and gave him a perly white smile and nodded "all clear daddy" her voice sang out and Hershal returned her smile. " Even if it was gated, it might be crawling with walkers on the inside, how are we supose to clear that out by our self" T-Dog stated, Maggie scofft " Leo, Mary and Anna managed to clear out a shopping mall, dont you think the five of us can take out a couple of houses?" Glenn placed his hand on the small of Maggies back to calm her down, he agreed with her, but there where no point in starting a fight among them selfs. "We can atleast go over and check it out, thanks to Anna and Daryl clearing out the WallMart, we atleast have suplies that will last us atleast a week if we are careful" They had stoped at the WalMart and filled up the car with sodacans, chips and what was left of the canned food. The others nodded and they all piled into the car. Maggie sat at the front passanger seat and held the map in her lap "Ok, so you go out on the mainroad, keep on it for what looks like about 30 minutes then take a left" she stated and Glenn grabed her hand and squeezed it, Maggie lifted both their hands and kissed Glenns knuckles before she pulled his hand against her cheek. She was sertain that they could make it together, and that they where gonna find the others.   
It took them about an houer before they reached their destination, they pulled up next to the closed gate, and sat in the car, their eyes scanned through the gates, Hershal was the first to speak up "How are we gonna do this?" Glenn turned to his side so he could talk more easely with the group " I say, you and Beth stay with the car, keep the engine going, incase we have to get away in a hurry, me, Maggie and T-dog jump over the gate and swipe the erea, Beth have her knife and we leave the shotgun here with you" They all nodded and jumped out of the car, Hershal got into the driverseat and Beth stayed in the back, they opened the windows so that they could hear the rest of the group. They watched as Glenn climbed the gate first, he sat on the bridge of it while he hoisted Maggie up and helped her down on the other side, T-Dog was the last to climb over.  
As they had reached the other side they spotted a lone walker in the middle of the street, they easly ran over and brought it down, Maggie looked over to the other two "I say we split up, that way it is faster" The others nodded and they all ran in different directions, it was two streets, with small houses on each side. T- dog rounded the first street and walked into the first house on the second street, the house was empty, suprisingly enough it looked clean and tidy, he searched through the kitchen cabinets, he could spot cereal boxes and canned peaches, this was weird he thought to himself. He walked out of the house and whent into the next, suddenly his blood froze in his veins when he heard a woman scream. He ran back out of the house and onto the street, he continued to run back to the first street where he saw three men with shotguns pointing at Glenn and Maggie. They spotted him as he had rounded the street and the third, a young boy, held his shotgun pointed at him, he raised his hands in the air. T- Dog could see two of the men looked like father and son, but the third man was a big brute with a beanie on his head. Glenn spoke up "we mean no harm. we are just looking for a safe place to camp, we didnt see anyone els until i stumbled over the woman in the livingroom, i am sorry if i scared her" The big brute looked at them and told them to place their weapons on the ground, they all did as they where told, then the man next to the big man spoke up "how meny are you?" Glenn pointed to the three of them, "its just us and two in the car outside of the gate, we where a larger group but our safeplace was taken and we where all scattered. " The big man looked down at the others "they dont seem dangerous, they could help keep this place safe, what happened to your wife earlier was to much of a close call for comfort" Maggie heard the pleeding in the big brutes voice " is someone in your group hurt? My dad, who is waiting in the car is a dr, well a vet, but he have done alot to help our group when we have had accidents" The men lowered their guns. "Alright, but we are gonna keep your weapons until we can see if we can trust you" They all nodded. Glenn turned to T-Dog "go over and bring in Hershal and Beth" T-Dog nodded and started jogging past the three men. The big man walked over to Glenn with an outstreatched hand " Im Tyreese, this here is Allan and his son Ben, my sister Sasha and his wife Donna is inside the house. We had some walkers comming through a whole in the gate last night, it took us by surprise this morning. Donna isnt doing so good" Glenn looked at Maggie, they both knew where this was going to lead, but Glenn shook the man, Tyreeses hand "Im Glenn, this is my girlfriend Maggie, T- Dog is getting the others, Maggies father and baby sister, Hershal and Beth" Tyreese gave him a wide smile.   
They explained the situation as Beth and Hershal had parked the car safely inside the gate and was now walking into the house, they where all introduced to Donna and Sasha. Donna was laying on the couch, pale and her forhead was glistening from sweat, Sasha was sitting by her patting a wet cloth on her face. Hershal walked over "Let me take over from here darling" He said and gently sat down where Sasha had been seated, he looked over his sholder to the others "she have a fever, have she been scratched, bit or other injeries?" Allan her husband spoke up " she was bit, but it is houers ago, i think her body is strong enough to fight off the infection, or els she would have turned right away, right, but she didnt, shes still here with us" Hershal shook his head, Glenn, Maggie, Beth and T-Dog stared at the floor, knowing what was comming. " It can take houers before the infection takes over the body, i am sorry to say but she will not survive, there is nothing we can do, i am sorry." He got up and looked into the mans eyes, Allan pulled his son into a tight embrace and they both started crying. Glenn pulled Tyreese into the kitchen "The woman is going to die, we have all seen it happen, shes gonna turn as soon as her body gives in to the infection, as soon as she turnes she is gonna be dangerous, we have to sit with her until it happens and then stop her before she can bite or scratch anyone els" he was whispering to Tyreese, so that Allan and his son would not hear them, Tyreese nodded. He had been afraid that this was gonna happen. He nodded and sighed. "Yes, Sasha and i will sit with her, we will take care of it. You all can find a house and settle in" Glenn nodded, he saw the man had a hammer dangeling from his belt and a handgun stuck into his waistband. Glenn patted the mans massive sholder " Me and T will look into that hole in the gate, make sure this wount happen again."

Lori was curled up in her bed, her tears ran silently down her cheeks, her eyes terrefied but alert, watching the people who where settled in the furniture store. They all ate and drank, and empty cans and bottles where littering the floor that used to be so tidy. She had not slept or eaten anything since she had been held captive. The man with a ragged scare down his face sat down next to her "They tell me you refuse to eat and drink" he said, Lori just looked up at him, anger and terror etzed into her eyes. "now now, we wount hurt you, if you do as i say you will be treated like a queen" He said, laying his calous hand on her tigh "ive had my eyes on this place for a while now, ive had my eyes on you. I will give you everything your little heart desires" Lori just looked at him like he was crazy. "you kille my husband and children" she squeeked and the man let out a laugh that sounded more like a bark. "They can be replaced. This is the new world, you better get used to the idea" he said and got up from the bed and walked over to the two men he trusted most "keep an eye on her, make sure she dosent do anything stupid" the two men nodded.


	16. Comunity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group have been scattered and are now fending for them selfs. But a few people refuse to give up hope and are out looking for the rest. Slowly they are making progress in reuniting people from the old group and finding new groups. Can they all live together?. Can they manage to rebuild what they have lost?
> 
>  
> 
> There will be some time scipping in this chapter.

Anna carved yet another line into the old woodenbeam in the old cottage they had been staying at for the last, she counted the lines, thirteen days. Her gray orbs scanned the room, it was small, dusty and not very up to date on the furniture either. She looked over at the chair Daryl used to sleep in, this morning the two legs on the right side had caved and the sound had jolted them both awake, Anna had bursted out into a giggle fit seeing Daryl scrambeling around on the floor in the dim morning light, looking for his bow, when it dawned on him what had happend. He had stomped out, grwoling something about the stupid chair and that he was going hunting. Anna smiled from the thought, she walked over to the borded up window and peaked outside, seeing Daryl sitting on the porch skinning his squirrels and a rabbit. Her leg was now much better and she could walk around on it for a little while. She walked over to the door and walked out, sitting next to Daryl on the porch. She could see he had built a small fire to cook the meat. "i was thinking" she paused for a second and took a deep breath "my leg is alot better now, maybe its time we moved on, started looking for the others or atleast whent on a run, find some clean water" Daryl glanzed over at her and scoffed at her. Guess his mood havent improved the houers he had been out hunting afterall. She watched him as he impaled the squirrels and held them over the small fire "ya wouldnt last an hour out there on that leg" he mumbled. Anna rolled her eyes in anoyance, "what the hell crawled up your ass today? you have barely spoken two words to me for thirteen days, well longer actually." Daryl shruged "thats how ya wanted it" he simply stated in his low rusty voice. Anna pulled her hands through her greasy hair, she then folded her hands in her lap and sighed " no, this is not what i want, im sorry i was a bitch back at the mall, im sorry for the shit ive said to you and im sorry that you are now forced to spend every waken minute with me." She pulled her self up on her feet and walked back in, she needed to go through the cabinets inside once more, maybe she was lucky this time and could find something usefull. She walked over to the kitchen erea and opened the cabinet door, it creeked open, she let her hand search over the shealfs, when she pulled it out it was dusty, she whiped it off on her pants and continued. There had to be something. She pushed her arm further in, since it was too high for her to look in, she felt a jar of something and pulled it out, a clear liquid was in the jar. She opened it and sniffed, she scrunched her nose, oh wow that was some strong shit, great she thought, an old beaten down cottage arent a cottage with alittlebit of moonshine. She heard the door being kicked open and she saw Daryl enter with the cooked animal meat in his left hand and his crossbow in the right. She turned facing him and wiggled her eyebrows "look what i found " Daryl looked from the jar in her hands and over to Annas face, she watched as he put the meat down on the small kitchen table, he put his crossbow down and pulled out a chair and slumped down. Anna walked over and put the jar next to the meat "not exactly expensive wine and steak, but i guess it will do" Daryl was already stuffing his mouth full of the squirrel meat, she grabed some meat and picked on it " what do you say, should we head out tomorrow? " Daryl ignored her, she sighed and grabed the jar and opened it, she took a swig at it and gulped down the hot booze, it burned down her throut and chest, she coughed slightly, giggled and took another swig, it was interupted by Daryl pulling the jar away from her mouth, placing it at the other side of the table "dont need another drunken disaster" he grunted. Anna continued to pick at her meat, she tasted one bite, squirrel wasnt quite her favorite, she knew she had to eat to keep her streangth up but she didnt exactly enjoy it. "its really not so bad if you have had alittle moonshine first" she said more to her self, but heard Daryl scofft again. He was clearly done eating as he got up from the table and walked over to the pull out sofa that Anna had been sleeping on, he slumped down on it, placing the jar of moonshine on the floor next to the leg of the couch, he then pulled his arm over his eyes. Anna chewed the last bit of her meat and swallowd, she got up and walked out into the livingroom, watching Daryl who looked like he was sleeping. They would have to share that bed now since the chair was ruined. Her mood was playfull from the boredom of just sitting around in the cabbin for thirteen days, she crawled over her side of the bed and sat on her knees next to Daryls side. She pulled her pointer down the roade of buttons on his shirt, she could see Daryl holding his breath for a second before he spoke up " what ya doin girl?". Anna giggled slightly before she slumped down on him, laying across his chest watching him. If they where gonna survive together they had to get over this thing that was between them. "im trying to get you to talk to me" she answered, playing with one of the buttons on his shirt. She saw how he put his big colus hands over her small hands and made her stop, he then pulled them away from his body and was about to lift her away, but she jumped up and put one leg on each side of his hips, stradeling him. Now he was looking directly up at her and her silver gray met his sky blue. They where compleatly still, just staring into eachothers eyes for a while before he broke the silence "quite this shit and get some rest" He was still holding her wrists, she leaned down so theire faces was only inches apart, his hot breath was faning her face " all ive done lately is rest. " she didnt know what it was but she suddenly felt very brave, she closed in the few inches between them and placed her lips softly on his, she brushed them slowly against his, testing if he would welcome the kiss or not. She slowly slid her tongue across his bottom lip, he opened his lips slightly and she let her tongue slip into his warm mouth, her tongue twirrled around his, a soft moan escaped her when she felt Daryls hands letting go of her wrists and wrapping themself around her back, pulling her closer into him. It was almost like all the time that had gone by was whisked away and they where back being teens and madly inlove with eachother, it felt so right being in his arms once more. She had not registered that her hands had pulled open the buttons in his shirt, but suddenly she felt his hot skin under her hands as she let them glide over his strong chest and wide sholders. Daryl bucked his hips up against her core and she could feel how he was hardening up. Her hands travled down to his jeans and she tugged on the button, her arms was pushed over her head and she felt the cool breeze from the drafty room as her tshirt was pulled over her head and thrown on the floor. She suddenly felt the room spin and suddenly she was on her back staring up at Daryl, who was laying over her, she felt his weight pressing her down in the matress, she pulled her legs up higher and wraped them around his waist. Daryl was now as eager as she felt and she felt his hot lips trace down her neck, finding her spot and sucking on the skin, she moned once more, she felt him tugging on her skinny jeans and she lifted her ass up from the matress so he could easly pull it off of her. Her hands snaked over his broad sholders and up into his hair, remembering what he liked she tugged on his hair, making him growl inot her neck, the vibration from his voice and lips on her skin made her hot and shaky at the same time. She raked her nails down his back, she could feel the uneaven bumps from the scars she knew was on his back, she felt him grind himself into her core and she moaned higher, his lips was on hers at once, both just as desperate to be as close to echother as they could. Daryl pulled away for a minute and she whimpered, missing him instantly, she opened her closed eyes and looked up at him, she wanted him, needed him so bad, she saw how he pushed his jeans and boxers off and kicked them on the floor, she pulled down her panties and threw them on the rest of the pile of clothes. Daryl was back ontop of her, his lips pressed against hers, she bit down on his bottom lip and tugged on it, this made him buck his hips and she opened up to him. A load moan escaped her lips as she felt him press himself into her in one slow thrust, the sting of pain gave away for the pleasure of being filled compleatly of the man she had ever loved, she felt him grip her sholders with his big hands and shoved his head in the crock of her neck. They where both clinging to eachothers bodys as they desperatly reached their highs, both phanting from the intensety they had just shared, she felt Daryl lean on his forarm, she looked up at him and met his glazed over blue eyes, she smiled slightly and he leaned down and kissed her, the fluttery feeling in her stomach had grown and now her body finely felt content. He brushed a couple of strains of hair away from her sweaty forhead and kissed it before he pulled out and laid next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her back into him, she felt him kiss her bare sholder, she jawned and closed her eyes.

Leo pushed the frustration back as he grabed Carols sholder once more, He lifted her arms and put them in position "one more time, this time dont force the trigger back, just squeeze it gently back. And keep the hilt of the rifle against your sholder and keep your arms like this" he showed her, she mimicked his position as best as she could "that way the kickback wount hurt you" he said, Carol nodded and pulled the trigger back before she was ready. She let out a whimper and droped the rifle on the ground. Leo pulled his hands trough his brown hair, he watched as Carol grabed her sholder and rubbed it. "im never gonna be able to do this" she whined and looked with dispear written in her eyes up at Leo. "If you would listen to what i say , then you would be fine, but your so god damn stubborn. " he raised his voice in frustration and he noticed how the woman cringed and slowly backed away from him. She looked like a beaten dog, where her eyes was tearing up. "What?" he said throwing his hands out to the sides, he couldnt remember Mary being this difficult to train when him and Anna had forced her to learn how to shoot. "Sorry" the grayhaird woman mumbled and whiped her cheeks as she looked down on the ground. Leo grabed the rifle and pushed it into her hands once more "Try again, this time do as i say! The woman sniffled and nodded. "ok" she whispered, she took the position and once again she fired before she was ready, Leo growled in anoyance, he stomped off to their camp, he walked over the lines with cans and sat down by the fire pit. Why the hell of all people left on this planet had he ended up with Carol. He glanced inside the tent behind him and watched the baby sleeping. Even a screaming and hungry baby Judith was easier to handle then Carol. She was really getting on his nerves with her constant whining and whimpering. He leaned over the firepit and started to build a fire. After Carol came back he was gonna go check on the snares he had placed out around camp the night before. Carol walked into their camp and a dead rabbit laned by his feet, Leo looked up at Carol "I checked a snare on the way over" she said, Leo nodded, he lifted up the furry creature and looked at it, it looked well fed, this was deffently some good news. He threw the rabbit over at her "you brought it back, you skinn it" he said. Carol grabed her knife and started to skinn the rabbit as Leo, pulled out an empty tin can and placed it on the small fire, he poored water into it. "how are you on water?" he asked Carol, Carol stoped what she was doing and threw him her bottle "its empty" she said. He waited until the water was boiling, then he grabed the tincan, he pulled a tshirt over it and poored the water into their bottles, and then refilled it. He had to make some bottles for Judith as well, if they had to pack up and move on they wouldnt have time to make one. Judith was usually a quiet kid, thank god, but when she was hungry she would scream her lungs out, it had happened a couple of times as they where unprepared, and that was dangerous in this world. First time he had to put down five walkers, the second time a whole herd was on their tail and they had almost died atempting to run from them, since Carol was not much of a fighter yet, it was up to him to save them. The water was yet again boiling and he prepared four bottles for Judith. He put the bottles back into the babys bag and placed it near the tent. "im gonna go check on the snares, if something happens just shout, we need to prepare some food, and head out tomorrow. I checked the map last night and there are a few places around here where we should check, maybe we will find the others" he said, Carol nodded and looked up at him "do you really think they are alive? " Leo was getting tired of Carol always questioning his faith in the others. He knew his best friends and wife wherent dead, he could feel it. They where out there. " When you managed to stay alive i know for a fact that the others are alive as well. " he growled, not able to hide his annoyance towards her anylonger, he stomped out, not wanting to look at her for another minute until he had calmed down a bit. Carols eyes teared up again from Leos harsh words, she whiped them away angrily "ill show you im capable to survive" she angrily whispered. She needed to stop doubting herself and show him and her self that she could adapt just as well as the others. She placed the skinned animal on a stick and held it over the fire. 

Mary and Michone crept alongside the shelfs in the clothing store, the weather was getting more humid and warm and they both needed to lose the winter coats and get some lighter sweaters and tshirts. They had found what they needed and was aobut to enter when Michone stoped dead in her tracks, Mary peaked through the hugh display windows and eyed two trucks pulling up, a group with about nine men pooring out of the cars. "oh no" Mary breathed, she could recognize a few of the guys from when her and Anna had been kidnaped, the guys must have gotten out when Leo had freed them. Michone turned her head and looked at Mary over her sholder "you know these people?" Mary bit her lip, her hands had started to shake, the old paralyzing fear was back "i know of them" she managed to press over her stiff lips."We need to go" Michone whispered while tugging on Marys arm, leading her in the back of the store. As they sliped into the staff room, they could hear the front door being opened and the guys walked inside, they made alot of noise, shouting at eachother, cursing and laughing that cold predatory laugh. Michone could see that Mary was holding stuff from them, she had seen the woman take down walkers without even blinking, her new friend was not scared easy, but this made her terrefied. Michone was not mad or disapointed at Mary for not sharing every detail of her life with her, Michone had her secrets too, but Marys body language was easy enough to read. Michone pushed down the handle to the back door, luckely it gave and it creeked open, she held her breath, hoping that the guys had not heard the sound, but praying for a miracle these days was useless, they heard jogging footsteps and both Michone and Mary bolted through the door and ran like the devil was on their heals down the alley. They heard a guy shout behind them " yall, its one of the chicks that escaped, this time well gonna get her... make her pay!!!! " Mary glanzed behind them and they saw three guys running trying to catch up to them. As they rounded the corner they was brought to a hault, a herd of walkers was stumbeling aimlesly around in the streets. Michone jumped up on a dumbster and Mary followd, they hoisted themselfs up onto a small roof and laid flat on their stomach, watching the guys stumble right into the herd, they put up quite a fight, one was taken by the dead but the other two managed to escape back into the alley. Mary and Michone watched as the man was riped apart, the guttered screams and the groans from the walkers eating franzie made their stomach turn. Michone motioned for them to move to the end of the building to see if they could make their way down to the street and escape the opesite way that the body was. They saw a pile of palets being stocked and they let out a breath in relief. Mary climbed down first and grabed the bags that Michone hoisted down to her, when Michone climbed down she lost her footing and the pallets gave and she fell to the ground. Mary rushed over to her side and turned her over, slapping her on the cheek to get her to respond. Michone came to and let out a grunt, Mary helped her up but Michone had to choke a scream as she clutched her sides, Mary lifted her shirt up and saw a large gash down her side, she pulled a tshirt from her dufflebag and pushed it into the wound that was bleading heavely. We need to get you away from here, the walkers can smell blood, can you walk. Michone nodded stiffly, while Mary grabed Michones dufflebag and slung it over her other sholder. They continued down the street, Mary checking every car they past incase they would be so lucky that one of them had the keys still in the ignition. They had been walking for what seemed an eternaty when a voice behind them made them stop " Mary??? is that you???" She turned, there where something familular with the soft southern drawl, her golden orbes landed on a tall brunette, and her face cracked into a hugh smile as she recognized Maggie, her eyes was tearing up as she saw her friend in front of her, she droped Michones hand and sprinted over to Maggie and hugged her tightly. Maggie laughed into her ear "Oh i knew it was you, thank god you are alive" she continued, Mary pulled back and whiped her tears and looked over Maggies sholder and saw Glenn walking out of the store with his arms full. Maggie turned around "Glenn see who i found?" Mary looked as Glenns jaw almost droped to the ground. In a flash he was over by her side pulling her into a bearhug, Mary laughed as she pulled out of the tight embrace " Maggie, Glenn it is so wonderfull to see you, are the rest of the group ok? Are Leo and Anna with you?" Glenns face dropped slightly and Mary could feel her heart drop "T-Dog, daddy, bet and us are ok, we left together, you are the first we have seen of the group, but we are looking for the others. " Maggie said when someone behind them cleared their throat and Glenn turned "Mary, you need to meet Sasha and Tyreese, we are living with them in a gated comunity. You have to come back with us, we where just leaving" Mary waved to the two and they smiled and nodded back, Mary suddenly remembered her new friend, she walked over to Michone and pulled her towards the other "Michone, this is two people from my old group, Maggie and Glenn, and that is their new friends Sasha and Tyreese. Everyone this is Michone. I need to get her some place safe and stitch her up, we stumbled over a herd further down the street and she had alittle accident." Mary saw the man called Tyreese grabing the hammer that was hanging from his belt "is she bit?" Michone had seen it too and was reaching for her katana that was slung across her back. "No no, she fell, she cut herself on some pallets, we wherent close to the walkers" Mary said, stepping infront of Michone protectivly with her hands up infront of her body. Both Tyreese and Sasha looked at them for a while before they nodded. "Help her over to the car and we will go straight back, it is about 45 minutes drive from here" Glenn said, already on his way over to the car, Mary smiled at Glenns back and once again grabed Michones arm to help her over to the car. They both slipped in to the back seat as the rest of the people also tucked them self in, it was a large car, but Tyreese was a big man, and they where one person to meny, so there wherent alot of room. But atleast they where safe. And Mary was one step closer to find Leo. 

 

\--one month later--  
Hershal had taken in Mary and Michone in the house that he had claimed for himself and his youngest daughter, Maggie and Glenn had started out living with them, but after they managed to repair the holes in the gate surrounding the comounity it had been safe enough for them to claim a house on their own. They had managed to convince both Sasha and Tyreese that they where stronger in numbers and started to take in more survivors they met out on runs, they had stumbled over two people in the beginning, a man called Bob and a woman called Karen. It turned out that they where a great asset to their new group. Bob had after a while admitted to having a drinking problem, something that had become evident out on one of their runs, and Hershal had taken him under his wing, to help the man back on his feet. The newest addition to their group was three four people who they found nearly halfdead from starving and dehydration in a firefighter truck. A tall man with bright orrange hair called Abraham, two woman with brown hair called Rosita and Tara and another man Eugene. Eugene had convinced the small group to escourte him to D.C so that he could find a cure for the outbreak, but on the road it had become evident that he knew nothing of a cure and it had almost killed them. Abraham who had been determinded to get Eugene to D.C, to save the rest of the population that was still alive somewhere out there, had become broken when he found out that Eugene knew nothing about a cure afterall. Eugene was not what you can call a fighter or a survivor, but he was smart, he had found ways to make the gate stronger and also made it possible for their gated comunity to draw water from a nearby creek. Each person of their comunity had gotten a job, Mary was their dr, with the help from Bob, since he had been a medic in the army. Glenn, Maggie, Tara, Tyreese, Rosita and Michone was now doing the scavenging and the runs. Hershal did what he was best at he was the comunities farmer. Karan and Beth did the cooking, the laundry and the stocking, Abraham, T-Dog, Sasha, Allan and his son was on watch duty. Allan was slipping though, he had lost it when his wife Donna had been bitten and they had to take him down. He was constantly arguing with the others, and was getting paranoid after the group had started to bring in new people. Everyone in the group saw that the man could put the comunity in danger, but they let him be and where walking on eggshells around him. Hershal walked around in his backyard who was now full of tomato plants, apple trees, cucumber plants, potatos and carrots. He took a deep breath and exhaled with a sigh of relief, his two daughters where safe, Glenn had proposed to his oldest daughter Maggie and the group was happy, life as it was now was yet again good to live. His trail of thoughts where interupted by Maggie, who came walking towards him, she smiled at him and pecked him on the cheek "hey daddy" the young woman said, they had just come back from a run "oh thank god Maggie, your home safe, is everyone alright?" he said and looked into his daughters eyes, the young woman nodded. "Yes, everyone is safe, it took longer then we had anticipated, we ran into someone" Maggie said with a hugh grin on her face and grabed her dads hand "Oh, you brought someone new back?" he asked and let his daughter pull him into the house. "Yes, and i think you would want to meet them" she nodded, the back door swung open and Hershals eyes landed on a scruffy looking man and a young boy. Hershal let out a gasp as he eyed his friend, the man and the boy scipped down the few steps and walked over to him and pulled him into a bearhug "Thank god you guys are alright" he breathed as he hugged them both back. This was sertainly a good day. Two more members, Rick and Carl was alive and brought back to them. His hope that they all would be reunited was blossoming.   
Rick and Carl was shown a house, and thanks to Eugene they could take a shower, Beth came over with new clothes and alittle food. Hershal was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for them to be done, Rick soon joined him. Beth served him a hot cup of instant coffe as he sat down, Rick smiled up at the young girl and thanked her, he looked over at Hershal. "This place is unbelivable" he breathed down into the hot black liquide. Hershal nodded and smiled. "Are there anyone els here from the group, i saw Maggie and Glenn, and now you and Beth?" Rick waited with a hopeful glimps in his eyes, Hershal looked into Ricks blue eyes, his voice was serious " T-Dog escaped with us, he is now sleeping since he have the night shift on watch duty. We picked up Mary and another woman about a month ago." He could see how his heart droped hearing that his wife and baby daughter was not there. "Do you know anything about the other?" Hershal shook his head "But you need to have faith Rick, we found Mary, and you two. We will find the others aswell. You will get to rest for a couple of days, then you can either be on watch or farm with me. I was thinking Carl could help me, he is turning into a strong boy. " Rick nodded agreingly. This was sertainly a good place to rebuild their life. His hope was nearly crushed when they lost the mall, but he could see his group was strong, and they would be even stronger whith the new people he had seen walking around in the comunity when they drove in. This was a good place for Carl. He could only hope that Lori and Judith would join them.


	17. Unexpected news

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna, Daryl, Leo, Carol and Judith have been out on the road for nearly five months, they are living from hand to mouth, still clinging to the hope that they will reunite with everyone from their old group. Will they meet, and what will happen when or if they do? Anna have something on her mind, can she muster the currage to tell Daryl, how will he react to it?

Anna kept her eyes focused on Daryls back as they ran down what seemed like an empty street, she could feel the bile rise in her throat and tried to focus on her breathing, in and then out. She forced her legs forward. They had made it through the forrest, only stumbled over a handfull of walkers, that they had easly slayed without any problems. They had left the cabin after that intense night, and they had spent the nights to come under the open sky, it would have been romantic as hell if it wherent for the danger always lurking in the shadows, they could hardly keep their hands off of eachother though, they where right back at where they left off when they where teenagers. They had stumbled over a small town and figured that they could scavange the shops before they moved on, they had only eaten squirrel meat for weeks and Anna had started to feel sick from it. She had complained to Daryl a couple of times, but they could not really hunt a deer becouse they had no way to keep the meat fresh, a deer would be to much for only two people, allthough Anna felt like she could eat a whole cow right now, her stomach was growlin as she pushed forward. After they had gone through the secound store, where they had found new lighter summer clothes, they had returned to the street and been surpised by the herd that almost was on their heals. They had taken off sprinting to safety. Daryl pulled her into a back alley and lifted her up onto a dumpster before he jumped up after her "climb the fence princess" he whispershouted when she bent over clutching her stomach. Anna gave him a frustrated look before she grabed the fence and tried to hoist her self up, but her muscle gave and her arms was vibrating "i cant" she phanted. Daryl looked over his sholder, the growling and grunting was getting closer, they could clearly hear their shuffeling steps on the pavement. Daryl grabed her waist and lifted her up so that she could throw her legs over, he saw her clutch to the metalfence with her hands, but the jolt of him climbing made her lose her footing and she fell down, it wasnt far but she landed on her back with a thump. Her breath was knocked out of her and she felt stars swimming before her eyes as she hit her head on the ground. Daryl reached out his hand to her as he landed softly on his feet next to her, he pulled her up, she swayed alitle, he looked at her "ya alright?" he said, worry etzed into his gruff voice. Anna was bending over, motioning for him to wait a secound with her pointer as she swiftly turned and emptied her stomach, Daryl was by her side within the secound and pulled her hair back, and gently rubbing her back. When she was done he pulled her up and looked into her gray orbes. "Are ya alright? Ya look alil pale" he pushed the back of his hand over her forhead "ya dont have a fever" he stated and Anna just shook her head "yeah im alright. Probably those squirrels youˋve been feeding me" she wiped her mouth mouth with the back of her hand and looked up at Daryls sky blue eyes. She slumped back onto the ground, Daryl looked at her like she suddenly had grown two heads "what ya doing? we need to get outa here!" he whisper shouted. Anna was leaning against the brick wall behind her and she let out a long yawn "i cant, i just wanna sleep, im so tired " Daryl grabed her hand and pulled her back up on her feet "cant sleep here princess, ya been acting weird lately. Throwing up everytime ya see a walker, passin out as soon as ya sit down. Are ya sure yer alright?" Anna gave him a weak smile and nodded "mhm, im fine, probably just hit my head alittle" she said, underlining it with rubbing the back of her head. Daryl still looked like he wasnt buying her shit, she knew he worried becouse he cared, but she wherent quite ready to share her thoughts with him right now. They where being chased by walkers for crying out loud. "alright Dixon, lets get moving and find someplace to stay for the night, its getting dark soon" Daryl pulled her into his arms and she snaked her arms around his waist and she breathed in his scent, a mix between the forrest and a musky scent that was Daryl, she loved the smell of him, it always had made her feel safe. He slowly pulled away and grabed her hand, not long after they where both jogging down the other street, looking for a place where they could spend the night.

Carol had just hit the target once again, and let out a happy squeel, she threw her arms around Leo neck and jumped up and down, making Leo sway "alright alirght calm your tits woman, dont wanna wake the baby" Carol pulled back, suddenly alittle embarased, Leo nudged her sholder playfully "your getting good, who knew you had it in you" he said proudly staring down at her. Carol beemed up again "well i had a good teacher that didnt give up on me" she said with a laughter. "well enough practise for today, now we need to move out" he motioned for Carol to come sit by the fire pit, he pulled out a map "ive been crossing out all the places we have looked, i think that if we move north, there is a town there, i think we should check it out" Carol studied the map "how loong have we been looking now three months? they could be all the way over to D.C by now, what makes you think they stayed in the area?" Leo looked at Carol, the thought had crossed him a couple of times, that they might have left Georgia all together, but somhow it didnt feel right to him to just leave the state just yet. "Mary wouldnt leave the state without being sertain i was dead. Same with Anna. " Carol looked up at Leo and met his brown eyes and smiled "It is impressive how much faith you have in your wife." Leo pulled his long brown hair back "well she is my reason for breathing, i need to find her. I know she isnt dead, i can feel it" Carol grabed his hand and squeesed it " we are gonna find her, alright lets get out of here". They tore down the tent and their sleeping bags, Carol had Judith safely tucked onto her back while Leo was carrying the heavy bags, they moved through the forrest "i think we can save some time if we make it down to the highway and just follow the road" Carol said after walking in silence for a while, Leo nodded "your right.... " he pulled out the map " we have been walking paralell to the highway, i think wer about an houer from it" Carol nodded and they started walking again. A growl could be heard, both Leo and Carol pulled out their knifes, since they had agreed on saving theire amo for emergensees and Carols training. Carol grabed Leos arm as the walker walked into their line of sight "Let me take him, i can do it, i know i can" Leo nodded and grabed Judith from Carols back as the woman jogged over, Leo watched as the walker eyed her and started walking towards her, its arms out infront of him, clawing for the fresh meat infront of him, Carol ducked under the outstreatched grabby hands easly and jumped up and pressed her knife into the walkers temple, she followd him down as it slumped to the ground, she placed her foot on its chest and pulled out her knife, wiping of the walker blood on its shirt. She stood up and turned to Leo with a hugh grin on her face " phew, that was fun" she breathed. Leo walked over and place a smiling Judith back onto her back "alright wonderwoman, now lets continue" Carol let out a giggle and followed after Leo "if only Ed could have seen me now? she mumbled, Leo looked over his sholder at her "that your husband? " Carol nodded " he was a worthless piece of shit, he should have seen me now, would have scared him shitless" she continued with a wide smile, Leo let out a short laughter, Rick had told him about all the people they had lost along the way, and from what Rick had said, this Ed guy was a woman beating asshole. They reached the highway and Leo sighed in relief " I dont think it will take long for us to reach the town, maybe if we move through the night, only short rests, we will make it there at first light" Carol nodded. Leo was surpised how much he had started to enjoy Carols company, it had taken about a month for her to stop the sobbing and pitty party, but when she did, her whole personality had changed, she was funny, witty and she was smart. Intertaining as hell. And she was real good with Judith, He had no idea what he would have done with a baby on his own, since he had no experiance with kids. He knew Carol had lost a daughter, but she took care of Judith like she was her own. He had started to admire the woman, she was the kind of person that got easly attatched to the people she was around, and he could see now that she had been attatched to Daryl, and that she was only looking out for a friend. He hoped that Carol would give Anna a chanse to prove that she was the best match for Daryl once they all got back together. They walked in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

Daryl watched Anna while she slept, she looked so peacefull, she had hardly changed at all, he couldnt describe how good it felt that they had worked through the shit that had been hanging over their heads for ten years. His feelings for her where just as strong as they where back then, maybe even stronger, though he had no idea have he was gonna tell her that, whenever he tried he just felt like an idiot, he could hear his father and brotherˋs voice in the back of his head every time, telling him that real men didnt care about feelings and all that sobby shit. He reconed that keeping her fed and safe was the best way he could show her, and dont to mention when they fucked, it was like a whole new experiance, nothing like he remembered with her, this was way better. There was one thing though that worried him greatly, she seemed like she was lacking energy, she was always tired and it didnt seem like she could keep the food that she ate in. She was getting sick, he knew it. Now when he had gotten her back finaly after all these years, she was slowly slipping through his fingers again, allthought this time it wasnt anyones fault. He needed to find someone who could check her out, foodpoisoning had crossed his mind several times, but he had been eating the same food as she, and he felt fine. Dehydration was another threat, he kept shoving water bottles into her hands, she refused at first, but he had insisted, one time almost forced her to drink.He had never been this scared about anything in his entire life, being surounded by walkers with only a few bullets and one bolt left could not compare to the fright of thinking that Anna might be dying. He pushed his long dark tresses out of his eyes, he glanzed out of the window and looked at the empty street below the window, god he wished Mary or Hershal was here. They would find out what was wrong with her and help her. He had never been to consearn about the internet and all that technoligy back before the world ended, but now he really wished that he had one of those smartphones where you could hook up online and find out all you needed to know. He crawled over to where Anna was sleeping, he laid down next to her, she snuggled up against him, he knew he should either stay awake on watch or wake up Anna, they really needed to be on guard. His eyelids felt heavy and he yawned, he was just about to shut his eyes when he heard the metal door into the shed they had crawled into the night before creeked open. It took him two seconds to be up on his feet again, with his crossbow in hand, aiming at the door.

Leo and Carol had walked for houers, the dark night was packed around them like a blanket, the sky was clear though so the stars shone on the night sky, it was beautiful. They had reached their destination, they had reached the town that Leo had marked on the map. Carol had pointed at some of the shops, signalizing for them to seak shelter in one of them, but Leo knew that Carol was tired and needed rest, they where not up for the work it was to empty one of them out of walkers. He was looking for something smaller, that was abandoned. They continued to walk into the paralell street that they had just left and there Leo eyed a shed behind one of the stores, it was perfect Leo thought, he pointed at the small building and they walked over and looked into the grimed windows, but it was too dark to see anything. He motioned for Carol to open the door, since she was carrying Judith, and he stood ready with his hand gun, aiming at the opening. The metal door slid open with a sqreech, Leo clenched his jaw, he moved over to the dark opening and peeked inside, no walkers, this was good, he took one step inside and froze " take one more step and yer get a bolt through yer head" he heard from the dark. There where something familular with that voice, his brown orbs scanned the dark and he could see a figure laying on the floor and another standing a few feet away aiming a crossbow at them. Leo lowered his gun "Daryl?" he whispered to the person aiming at them. "Leo?" was shot back and Leo sighed in relief "Yeah its me, Carol and the baby" He heard the man lower his weapon and suddenly Leo was pulled into a tight bearhug, he heard Carol close the metal door behind them, Leo returned the hug, happy to see his childhood friend alive. Leo watched as Daryl was over and hugging Carol just as tight as he had huged Leo. "Be carefull to not wake up Judith" Carol squeeked out and they all chuckled. Leo looked over to the figure on the floor "Is that Anna? Whats the matter with her, is she bit?" Leo was nervous and a lump was building in his throat. Daryl shook his head "Yeah its ˋer, nah aint bit, just tired. We stumbled over a herd of walkers when we got to town" Both Leo and Carol relaxed. Carol had but a sleeping Judith next to Anna on the floor and walked over to the guys where they where sitting, leaning into the wall, with their eyes on the door. "Have you guys seen some of the others, do you know anything about who survived?" Carol whipsered to Daryl "Nah, only been me and ˋer for months." Leo scratched the back of his neck "Now when we found you, im more sure then ever that they are out there" Daryl grunted agreeingly. Leo looked up at Carol " Go get some rest, ill take watch with Daryl" he whispered and watched as the woman he had now gotten close to go lay down next to Anna and Judith. He turned to Daryl " are you guys alright?" He saw how Daryl was nervously biting his thumb, he recognized Daryls habbit, Daryl nodded, but Leo knew there where something Daryl wherent telling him. "Its good ta see ya man" Daryl said and Leo smiled "its good to see you too, we have gone through every town and every house, looking for people" Leo said. Then he looked over to Daryl "Ill take watch, go get some rest, we will move out tomorrow, cant really stay here in this small shed forever" He saw how Daryl was about to object but then he yawned and nodded. The man got to his feet and walked over to the woman sleeping. Leo watched as Daryl laid down next to Anna, this made Leo smile, looks like the time they had spent to gether alone had worked like wonders between them. Who would have thought that the end of the world could bring two people back to gether.

Anna was awaken by the sunrays beeming through the grimed windows. She yawned and streatched her sore muscles. Her sleepy eyes scanned the room, expecting to see Daryl by the door, but what met Annas eyes gave her a shock, Leo and Carol was sitting by the door eating some squirrel meat, they both peeked their heads up when they heard the rusteling of Anna getting up at her feet. Both Leo and Carol where over embracing her in a tight hug in three long strides. Annas eyes was tearing up and she let out a yelp of happines, this cought Daryls ears and he stormed into the shed and pulled both Leo and Carol away "hey watch it, cant ya see yer hurtin ˋer!" he growled, Anna giggled alittle and wiped her eyes " No Daryl, its alright, im just so happy to see them" . Leo chuckled lightly from Darylˋs grim facial expression "i swear its gettin harder to read ya every day woman" he grumbled and made both Anna and Carol to laugh harder. "That is what makes us so intriguing" Carol said and pretended to flip her short hair over her sholder, this made Daryl role his eyes and walk out to get Anna a plate of some meat. Anna joined Carol and Leo as she was handed a plate, she scrunched her nose at the smell of it and felt her stomach turn, she pushed the meat around on the plate, when Daryl looked at her she stuffed some in her mouth, slowly chewed and swallowd hard, she gave him a weak smile that was returned by a worried look. Carol watched her closely too.   
After they had eaten, fed Judith and made some extra bottles for the baby, they packed up and moved out, the sun was already high on the sky and the heat was radiating harshly. Walking along the side of the highway in the heat was almost tortures. The two men was in front, discussing where to look next, Carol was in the middle and Anna was shuffeling her feet forward to keep up in the back, Carol slowed her pace to fall in steps with Anna. "How are you feelling?" The older woman asked in a soft whisper, Anna jolted her head towards Carol only now notecing that the woman was walking next to her, she grabed the waterbottle that Carol held out infront of her, she took a large gulp and gave the bottle back and wiped her forhead " im tired, my feet hurt, and this heat is killing me" Anna sighed and Carol chuckled "yeah i can remember how it was when i was expecting Sophia". Anna looked at the other woman alittle panickstruck, "how did you guess?" she whispered, Carol smiled at her and placed her hand around the younger womans sholder and squeesed it lightly " it was easy, you sleeping hard, eyes tearing up for no reason, you get sick from the smell of food. How long have you known for sure?" Anna shruged "Iˋve known for a while now, altough its hard to keep track of time" Carol nodded "I know, but it have been almost five months now since we lost the mall" Anna gasped "Have it really been that long?" Carol nodded and took a gulp from the water bottle. "Have you told him yet?"Anna shook her head and bit down on her bottom lip "No, i dont know how to tell him. Things are finally working out between us and i dont wanna ruin it. I dont know if i can handle loosing him again" her voice getting shakey and her eyes welled up with tears, Carol squeesed her sholder reasuringly "you wount lose him, you have seen him with Judith, he will be a good dad. He might need some time to get used to the idea though" Carol gave Anna a warm smile and Anna sniffled, surprised that the older woman was so warm and caring towards her "Iˋm sorry i was such a bitch to you back at the mall" Anna breathed between sniffles. Carol giggled slightly " aww honey, its in the past, we both said and did things we shouldnt have. I see now that you are right for him" Anna nodded and wiped away her tears. Carol picked up the pace and walked up to the guys "Hey mind if we find someplace where we can cool down alittle? We need a break, i need to change Judith" Leo pulled up a map "There should be a lake or something in the forrest near by" Daryl nodded and glanced over his sholder at Anna. They took off from the highway and moved into the lush green forrest.   
Reaching the lake Daryl heard Anna let out a squeel of happiness and he smiled, they all let their backpacks down onto the ground and flopped down. Carol grabed a squirming Judith that had started fuzzing. She pulled out a clean diaper and changed the baby, Leo held out a bottle for her and when the baby was clean and dressed she started feeding the little girl. Anna couldnt resist, she threw her clothes off and walked down in her underwear to the edge of the lake, she dipped her toes in and let out a sighed, she stepped further into the water. Daryl was watching her closely, ready to take off after her if she slipped and fell on the sandbank.Leo looked at Daryl, he couldnt resist anylonger "whats up Daryl? You look like someone died" Daryl frowned and met Leos brown orbes "might as well tell ya, since yer so close. Annaˋs sick. Have been for a while now, cant keep ˋer food down, sleeps all the time, first i thought it was food poisoning, then dehydration.... now i dont know.... but its killing me to watch ˋer like that.. I need to get ˋèr to a dr or somethin.... " he threw his hands up, and started nervously chewing on his thumb, the worry evident in his voice. Leo pulled his hands through his brown tresses, they both looked at Anna "God i wish Mary was here, she would know what to do, what was wrong with her" Daryl nodded, he lit a cig he had been saving, he took a deep pull and exhaled the smoke."yeah ive been thinkin that too" Leoˋs eyes scanned over Anna again, she was washing her face and hair in the cool water. "you say she havent been eating? " Daryl just nodded "it dosent look like she lost any weight.... if i didnt know any better i would say she have gain some instead" Daryl scowled at Leo "stop lookin at ma girl, man". Carol had been sitting quiet hearing the guys discuss Anna, she rolled her eyes. "you two are both idiots" she said with a slight giggle, this made both Leo and Daryl scowl at her "Anna is not sick, shes fine and doing well considering her conditions in this world" she continued, meeting Daryls scowling eyes "you dont need to worry" this made Daryl even more agetated "woman what ya yapping about? course i worry, i finally get ˋer back and now shes fucking slipping through my fingers of a sicknes" Carol just rolled her eyes at him again, she had hoped that she didnt have to blurt it out like this, it was really Annas place to tell him, but she couldnt let her best friend worry himself half to death either "Daryl, shes not sick..... " she paused a second, rejusting a sleeping Judith in her lap, she looked back at Daryl " shes pregnant". The two men just stared at her without saying a word, and she was starting to wonder if they had heard her at all, but then Daryl jumped up and stomped over to where Anna was drying her self off and putting her clothes back on, he stood there looking at her for a while, he was still shocked from the news, anger and panick was fighting with the frustration and worry that had been wearing him out for months, he glared at her as she turned her head towards him and she gave him a tired smile, Daryl couldnt return her smile " When where ya gonna tell me?" Anna just stared at him for a while, but then he saw the realisation dawn on her "Daryl, i was gonna tell you, i just needed to be sure, and i didnt want you to worry" Daryl scoffed still glaring at her "yeah right" he spat before he grabed his bow and stomped off into the woods, Anna looked after him and then she met Carols apologetic eyes.


	18. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo and Daryl pins out their next move, they desides to check out a town two days walk from their campsite. In town they are suddenly facing the people who destroid the sanctury their group had in the mall. Will the small group survive a secound time?

Anna had been worried sick about Daryl, it had already gotten dark, but he had not come back yet. Anna had been crying at first, out of frustration and sorrow, they had reconected so well the months they had been on their own, she was planing on telling Daryl she was just waiting on the right time. A time when they got alittle breather and she could sit down and look into those magnifisent blue eyes of his that she loved so much, and tell him, but now it was spoiled. Carol had been apolegizing non stop for blurting it out. She understood why Daryl had gotten so angry and disapointed, Anna was filled with a bottomless hopelessness, if only they could find a place that was safe enough for them to build a life, like in the mall. Why was it that everytime people where around things between her and Daryl would crumble faster then she could blink? Anna knew it was her hormones that was the cause of the never ending tear flow, she had no problem in controlling her emotions, but now they where all over the place. Leo sat down beside her and rubbed his hand over her back, while Carol where giving Judith her night bottle and putting her to sleep. "Hey Anna, it will be alright, Daryl can handle himself out there, dont worry, he wount leave you behind now, he loves you, its written all over his face when he looks at you." Anna just nodded, she knew Leo was right as always. She leaned in and placed her head on Leos sholder, it was so good to have him back by her side, her bestfriend and brother threw thick and thin. She was greatfull that he was alive and well. "I know Leo, im just afraid everything we have build up the last months is now ruined, i dont wanna end up like Rick and Laurie back at the mall before she had her baby, they where hardly speaking" Leo looked at her with his kind understanding eyes "yeah, that is no way to live in this world, thats for sure " he said agreeingly. "Go to sleep, ill take first watch and have a talk with Daryl when he gets back, you need the rest, it looks like you are ready to colapse any second" Anna killed a yawn and nodded, she placed her self closer to the small bonfire they had cept, she felt the heat warm her back as she closed her eyes. Leo watched Anna for a second, then he gave Carol a stern look "why the hell did you tell Daryl? you couldnt let her tell him herself? or did you do it on purpose?" Leo whispered, but his words underlined how angry he was. Carol placed a sleeping Judith next to Anna and then walked over to Leo "I didnt mean too, but you saw how scared he was for her health, he was sure she was dying, ive never seen him that scared, and since it was so obvious i was puzzled that you two hadnt figured it out on your own" Leo rolled his eyes. "Well, pregnancy arent exactly the first thing to pop into my mind in a world like this..... And beside you knew how restrained their relationship was back at the mall, how was i know they where screwing eachothers brains out now?" Leo took a breather before he continued "Carol go to sleep, i told Anna i would take the first watch and wait for Daryl, beside i think i need to talk with him alone, would be better to do that without you interfering again" Carol had a guilty look in her eyes and just nodded, she knew she had really messed up earlier and was not in the mood to argue, she placed her self at the other side of the bonfire, with her knife in her hand, ready if they where attaced.

Daryl had been walking around aimlessly for houers, he had cought a few squirrels and a rabbit, a couple of walkers, he slid down next to a tree and pulled his knees up, he fished out a half smoken cig from his shirt pocket and lit it. He couldnt belive what was happening, his thoughts was all over the place, why hadnt Anna told him, why had he been thinking that she was going to die, that she was sick. He closed his eyes and took a deep pull on the cigg, why had they not been more carefull, no one had a baby in this world, that was crazy, well except Laurie, but that kind of happened right after the world whent to shit when everyone still had a small hope that the goverment would get shit sorted out. It was scary as hell to think that Anna was pregnant, carrying his kid, he had never pictured him self as a dad, not atleast since he was a teen, when things had gotten serious between him and Anna he had played alittle with the idea of having a family with her, but when things ended all desires of having a family died and was burried with their dead relationship. But now, now it was really happening, oh shit it was really happening. Fucking christ, what was he supose to do, there where no docters, no hospitals, no Mary or Hershal that could help them, what if there where complications during birth, what if they where overrun by walkers or worse other living group, what if he wasnt able to protect her, she would die, the baby would die. He would loose it all again. Things where finally good between them, he could not lose her now, his eyes where stinging and he rubbed them harshly with the heals of his palms. He needed to find a safe place for them now, it was important, her and the babys life depended on him. He needed to look over Leos map, see where he and Carol had been, and see where it would be houses where it was safe. He had almost been tempted to drag her ass back to the cabin where they had stayed for a couple of weeks, but it was too close to the group that had chased them out of the mall. He got to his feet, slung the string of his kill over his sholder and thossed the cigbut into the dirt and steped on it.  
It was dark when he finally arrived back at the camp, he saw three shadows laying on the ground next to the small fire and Leo was sitting, poking a stick into the buring logs. He sat down next to Leo and grabed his knife and started to skin his kill, Leo greeted him, but Daryl answered with a grunt. "I know the news came as a shock to you, hell i was so shocked i almost shit myself" Leo said with a light chuckle " but it isnt the end of the world, its not like she did it on purpose, Anna said she was gonna tell you, she was just waiting on the right time to do it, you know how woman are, wanting everything to be so damn romantic and perfect all the fucking time" Daryl continued to skin his kill while Leo talked, he knew Leo was right, and he knew he had not reacted in the best way. He knew that Anna probably felt hurt by him, but for christ sake, he was hurt too, that she had kept something that important to her self. "Mm, she should have told me" Leo nodded agreeingly "yeah, i know, you should talk to her though, find out why she kept her mouth shut, maybe she had a reason for it" Daryl grabed the stick Leo had been poking into the fire and pierced the two squirrels with it and held it over the fire " yeah ill talk with ˋer in the mornin, she needs the rest, not gonna wake her ass up now" Leo gave Daryl a nudge to the side "well congratz man, never thought you where gonna beat me to it" Daryl just looked at him and cocked his right brow questiongly "you know, being a family man and all that, thought for sure i was gonna dangle long before you" Daryl snorted "wasnt exactly planed" Leo chuckled "it never is" Daryl turned the stick so the meat would be cooked properly "ya have that map of yers, wanna see where ya guys been" Leo pulled out the rough looking map and unfolded it, he pulled out a small flash light and pointed it to the map, Daryl leaned over and looked at it, Leo had crossed over several towns names, Daryl could see how thorough Leo had been, there where one town though, not far from where they where now that Leo had not been, he pointed to the name "Ya havent been here, i think we should give it a try, even if it means we have to go back a bit" Leo looked at the map it was a town him and Carol had skiped "yeah, we where headed that way, but was cut off by a massice herd, but we kept following the highway for a while, might be wiser to go through the woods" Daryl nodded, the woods was his element, he knew how to keep them safe in the woods. "we need to find a place where we can stay for a while, getting there is only a couple of days track i recon, if we keep a steady pace" Leo couldnt help him self " yeah, well seeing what kind of jackpot your steady pace have resulted in so far, i think we will find a fucking goldmine" he snickered and Daryl rolled his eyes again "yea yeah laugh it off ya fucker, ya always had a field day about me and Anna" Leo was now laughing so hard he had to whipe his eyes "can you blame me, the two most awkward people in the world hooking up, fucking hell, never thought the two of you would ever be close enough to actually get knocked up" Daryl glared at Leo hugging his stomach from laughter "yeah well just couse we aint puttin on a fucking porn show for all tha see, donˋt mean nuthin happend" Leo took a deep breath "yeah well holding your girlfriend hand or giving her a quick kiss infront of others cant really be compared to a pornshow, but yeah i get it, you dont like public displays" Daryl scofted again, he never knew why it was so fucking important to have a fucking audience all the time, it was non of their buisness how he treated his girl. Daryl looked at the cooked squirrels and handed one to Leo, they both ate in somewhat silence.When they where done Leo told Daryl that he could get a couple of houers of sleep and Daryl nodded and walked over to Anna who was laying on her side, Judith tucked in under her blanket, this was a sight he would be getting used to seeing, funny enough it didnt really bother him all that much anymore. He placed him self so Judith was between them, he pulled a lock of hair out of Annas face and leaned over and kissed her temple "gnight princess", he let his finger run softly over the babys forhead too "good night lil asskicker", and with that he drifted off to a light sleep.

Anna woke up with the first morning light, she heard Judith starting to stir in her sleep, she sat up and pulled the now awake baby into her arms, a bottle with formula was shoved into her hand and she looked up surprised to see that it was Daryl who had prepared it for her, she gave him a small smile and watched as Judith sucked on the bottle happily, Daryl whent over to the bonfire and pulled out a plate of cooked meat, something he probably had been out hunting when he left, he sat down next to her and placed the plate infront of her "ya should try to eat some" he just said and Anna looked at the food and felt her stomach turn and she noticed the bile that suddenly rose in her throat, she could hardly wait for this hell to be over, she was never picky when it came to food, but now, it was frustrating how everything seemed to make her want to puke. She shook her head lightly "i have a granola bar in my backpack that i have been saving, i can eat it later" Daryl pushed the plate closer to her "nah, thats not food, ya should eat something that gives ya more energy, its not just for yer own good but " he was cut off by her glare "Daryl Dixon! if you dont remove that plate this minute you will get yesterdays supper all over your lap, i swear to god, that awful smell is killing me" Daryl had never thought about the fact that she was reacting to the smell of cooked meat, he just thought, hell he didnt know what he had been thinking, he grabed the plate and placed it further away "I know you are trying to be considerate and sweet, but i eat what i can keep in my stomach, im so sick of throwing up everytime i take a bite of something. You dont have to tell me that i need to eat, i know that, and i know i have to consider the fact that i am pregnant and not put myself in any form of risks." Daryl chewed on his bottom lip and stared at the ground "im sorry i yelled at ya yesterday", Anna looked at him and grinned "I know you Daryl, i knew you would react like that, thats why i had a hard time telling you, i expected that you where gonna blow up and nuke my ass." Daryl grunted "i aint that bad" Anna shruged "you have always had problems controlling your temper" she simply stated, before she shifted her grip on Judith who had already almost emptied the bottle, but was still clinging on to it like her life depended on it. Daryl pulled his knee up and rested his elbow on it as he chewed absintmindly on his thumb "how far along are ya?" Anna bit down on her lower lip for a second, trying to do the math in her head "about three or four months i recon" she said with a nother shrug, it was hard keeping track of time in a world like this. Daryl just nodded, Anna placed the baby back on the blanket and pulled off her wet diaper "hand me that bag over there, gotta change her or els she will start screaming her ass off" Daryl was quick on his feet and grabed the diaperbag and handed it to Anna as he sat down again and watched Anna while she changed Judith, he needed to learn how to do this shit he recon. "So whats the plan now?" Anna asked when she was done and the baby was laying content on the ground, and Anna was tickeling the babys tummy, making the baby giggle. "gotta head out, found a town we need to check out, gotta find a place where yer safe" Anna looked up at Daryl "so wer not gonna look for the rest of the group? are we just gonna give up on them now?" Daryl shook his head "yer safety is my first priority right now" Anna couldnt belive that Leo and Carol would agree with that plan, knowing how much they missed Mary and the others. "We need to find the others, atleast find Mary or Hershal, how els are we gonna deliver the baby safely?" Daryl had started chewing on his thumb again and nervous energy was radiating from his tence body " we need ta find a place thats safe for ya, im still gonna go out and look for them" he said with a shrug, casting a glance at Anna, he could see lightinging in her gray orbs " you cant be serious, am i just gonna be stuck somewhere in a house while you are out there getting your self into trouble? i wount let you go out there alone, you know im more then capable to handle myself" Daryl had known Anna would object to the plan, she was just as stubborn as he was, but it was his responsebility to make sure both her and their kid was safe. "ya cant run four months from now, what if ya suddenly go into labor in the middle of a fucking herd? ya think im gonna alow ya to put yerself in that kind of situation and just watch both ya and the baby being ripped apart?" Anna knew she was stepping on broken glass right now, she heard that Daryl was starting to get pissed off from his barking tone of voice. She just threw her hands up in the air in a surrendaring motion " fine..... ill sit on my ass until i popp or die from boredom" Daryl just rolled his eyes from her childish stubborness.

 

It was the second day they had been walking towards the town, Anna knew she shouldnt be complaining, Daryl and Leo who led them was always asking if she needed a break or if she was hungry or how she was feeling, she wanted to yell to them that she felt like crap, she was tired, her feet was swallon like baloons, she felt light headed and all she really wanted to do was to lay down and sleep, but she also knew that they had to get to that town, and no matter how missrable she felt, she could not change that fact, so she just had to suck it up and plaster on a smile evertytime one of them or both turned with an worried expression. God she really hated the attention, she hated to feel so weak.  
Finally they stoped and both Anna and Carol slumped down, Leo walked over to the woman and squatted infront of them " the town is right infront of us, you two should stay here and keep Judith safe while we check it out" Anna glanzed over at Daryl who was leaning against a tree, his hair was clinging to his sweaty forhead and cheeks, he looked dirty and worn out, but yet the most sexy man she had ever laid her eyes upon, her eyes whent back to Leo "im not gonna let you two search a whole town by your self" Leo sighed, knowing this was comming " Anna, dont you think you should take it alittle easy in your condition?" Anna glared at her best friend and got up "Carol is more then capable to take care of Judith, im comming with you" Leo held his hands up and let his fiery friend pass him, he heard Carol chuckle slightly while she changed on the baby. He looked over to Daryl who eyes grew wider as he recognized Annas determinded look, he was about to object to her comming with them, he wasnt gonna risk anything happening to them, but Anna stoped infront of him, her semi rifle in her hand "Not a word Daryl, i know what im doin" Daryl looked over to Leo, desperation and frustration was latched all over his face, Leo shruged and they followed Anna. 

They had searched through the town, it seemed quiet, not too infested either. Ann had climbed up on a rooftop so that she had a good view over the whole street, while the ment searched the back alleys, the shops and some of the cars. Anna squinted her eyes in the harsh beating sun, her tee was clinging to her back and she could feel her skin was clammy, she was about to get up from her position when she suddenly spotted three moving cars, she whistled to Daryl and Leo, they both ran out into the street and Anna signalised that it was three cars comming in, their best option was to get up high and if they where a threat take them out. Leo climbed up on the building opesite of the one Anna was layin on, she thought Daryl was gonna go further down the streets, but suddenly she felt him right next to her "what you doin here" she whispered while she followed the cars through her scope, "not leaving ya ass up here alone" Anna huffed "what can ya see?" Daryl smirked from her huff and pinched her ass where she was laying flat on her stomach. He could picture here like this, like a sniper for the army, it was sexy as hell. Fucking hell they needed to find shelter soon he thought. "Theres three cars, they are slowing down, hold on" she watched as the cars came to a stop, she looked up to see if Leo was watching, he had his rifle directed at the second car, she grip tighter around her rifle and looked through the scope again, the people piled out "oh my god" she breathed " its the people that chased us out of the mall" she spotted a woman with the men, she recognized her, allthough she looked more frigile and thin "they have Lori" she whispered to Daryl, "we need to take them out" Daryl whispered back "can you get a clear shot out of them, how meny are they?" Anna counted the people and looked at the cars, looked like they where now empty " i count eight with Lori, we can take them out, no problem, can you get a shot from here with your bow?" she whispered, trying to steady her breath to get a clear shot. She felt Daryl get into position, his bow in his hands "mm" he murmured " clear shot on the bastard in the suit" Anna had the man in her scope, she moved to the guy behind " alright take him out, i have the man behind him" Daryl sent his bolt flying, it pierced the mans head clean, right after Anna sent a bullet right between the man behind hims eye, they heard a third shot right after and saw the guy holding Lori go down, Daryl had his bow ready again and took out a man running for cower, Anna shot a man waving and hit him in the neck, Leo shot a guy that ran after Lori who was now squatting behind a dumpster, there where now two left, but they couldnt see them clearly. "ima go down and find them" Daryl whispered annoyed, but Anna grabed his vest "are you crazy, not gonna let you run down there" Daryl growled "let m go woman" Anna was now on her knees clutching his vest in her hand "no they are gonna shoot you, we where lucky to get out last time, im not gonna let you run away from me again Daryl!" she snarled and suddenly bullets where flying up against their hiding place and they had to duck. "for cryin out loud woman, keep ya voice down" they heard more shots being fired, Anna glanzed over to Leo, but he was in cower too. Suddenly the bullets stopped, all three of them peeked over the edge of the roof they where laying on, their eyes wide in shock when they recognized two figures walking out into the streets "hey, Daryl! Anna! stop arguing and come down!" Glenn yelled as Maggie walked over to the dumpster and helpped Lori up on her feet. " Damn looks like china man came to the resque" Daryl chuckled. Anna rolled her eyes and she got up to her feet and pulled Daryl up with her, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.  
As they walked up to Maggie, Glenn and Lori they where embraced "fucking great to see you guys" Leo said with a hugh grin, "how did you guys know it was us?" Maggie chuckled " are you kidding? how you systematically shot those guys down before they had the chanse to react, and then Daryl and Annas loud bickering" Daryl blushed " its good to see you guys" Glenn said "now come on, we will take you back to the others" They walked back to the cars "Ill take Lori in a car and go get Carol and Judith" Leo said the other nodded "well meet you back at the highway" Maggie said and they climbed into the cars infront of them. Anna leaned heavely into Daryls side and yawned, Daryl noticed and slipped his arm around her sholder and kissed her forhead.  
It was a short drive from the town and over to the place Glenn and Maggie called home, Glenn told them all about how they had found the others and how the comunity now was growing. When they was led in through the gates and the cars stoped and they piled out of the cars, they looked around in shock, it was like they had just stepped out of the hell they had been living in the last few years. It was so peacefull and quiet. They where greeted by the rest of their group, Mary ran up and jumped into Leos arm and they kissed like it was their last day on earth, Rick and Carl where also wraped up in Loris arms, with Judith. Anna smiled up at Daryl and rubbed her stomach, she felt Daryl pull her closer and she felt his lips against her hair "now everything will be alright" she sighed happily and Daryl hummed agreingly. Everyone had survived and they where together at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im so sorry i have not been writing in so meny months, i have been really busy with my work. I hope you all can forgive me. Thank you all for taking the time to read my little story. I really hope you all enjoyed it. I am currantly working on another twd story and it will be posted soon, i hope you all will check it out. Thank you.


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